Goals, Setbacks and Roses

Pink RoseI watched “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” the other day. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a fun kid’s movie starring Dick Van Dyke. The song that I particularly noticed the words to was sung by Lionel Jeffries (he plays the grandfather). Some of the lyrics go like this:

So every time you stumble never grumble.
Next time you’ll bumble even less!
For up from the ashes, up from the ashes, grow the roses of success!

Last time I watched the movie, I noticed these lines too. I love that this song reminds us that when we don’t to reach our goals on the first try, it’s perfectly fine, because you’ll know what not to do next time and have a better chance at success.

I know it’s something I have to remind myself of. One setback or failure doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t try again. It doesn’t mean that I can’t reach the goal. And if you have a setback or a failure, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try again either.

Later the song it points out:

Disaster didn’t stymie Louis Pasteur! No sir!
Edison took years to see the light! Right!

Depending on which number you believe, it took Edison 1,000 to 10,000 tries to invent the light bulb. And he’s reported as saying:

I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb.

Whatever your goal is, you can do it. Setbacks are opportunities to learn what doesn’t work for you and give you a better chance at success next time. Also, remember you have resources around you for help. Resources can come in the form of books, websites and people. If you need help or are stuck let me know!

What resources do you use when you have a setback?

You can go here to see a clip of the song.
Photo credit: Pink rose without frame by Candie_N via flickr