Don’t Be Afraid of Failure

Arnold Schwarzenegger encourages a guy who had a bad day at the gym.

Last week, reddit user GnashBrowns posted about his terrible day at the gym. New to freeweights, he usually lifts with a friend but had to go it alone and it didn't go so well.

"Took a nasty spill and landed on my right knee to prevent myself from falling backwards. A couple people laughed. That hurt more than falling down."

After a couple of more attempts and more laughter, he got so embarrassed he quit and went home.

The internet came to the rescue with encouragement coming from everywhere, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, using his reddit handle GovSchwarzenegger

"I always say don't be afraid of failure, because how far can you really fall? You found out - to the ground. It's right there. Now you know it isn't anything that should scare you."

Schwarzenegger went on to applaud GnashBrowns, saying

"You should be proud that you weren't afraid - not embarrassed that you failed. You could have made excuses not to walk into the door, but you didn't. You knew it would be hard, and it would be uncomfortable, and it might be awkward - and you did it anyway. That's courage.

I'm proud of you."

Arnold had more to say, you can ready his entire reply here.

This story resonated with me as I proved to myself again this weekend that with patience, persistence and preparation , I can reach goals I never would have dreamed of.

In 2009, overweight and out of shape, I joined a gym and started running. Ten minutes on the elliptical machine was all I could do.

But I did it. Every day.

I ran my first 5k later that year, followed by a half-marathon in 2010. I knew there was "no way" I could run twice that distance.

I kept running. I stuck to a strict training schedule and ran even when I didn't feel like it.

I ran a marathon, then I ran 4 more.

What's next? The Kal-Haven Trail Run, my first attempt at an ultra-marathon.

I say this not to brag, but to encourage you to challenge yourself and step outside of your comfort zone and know that you can do so much more than you may think is possible one step at a time.

I know I won't be the fastest and I'm not going to win, but I plan to show up and start and do my best to finish.