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I’m Still a Failure and Still Proud of It
(And Why the #40 is so Meaningful)
A lot has changed since last May 2019 when I first published “I’m a Failure- And Proud of It” on the Startup, Medium’s largest active publication. Close to a year later, the message is still the same and likely even more poignant than ever during these unprecedented times.
One of the biggest changes since coming forward with my declaration of being a failure while remaining proud, besides how the pandemic has turned all of our lives upside down, is that I just published my 40th episode of Dear Family, the Podcast. I’m still proud to be failing because it means I’m still trying new things and pivoting when I need to, a skill more important now than ever.
The number 40 is a big marker of time and feels meaningful, maybe because it’s been about 40 days since we’ve been quarantining. Many of you may feel like your work’s momentum and life, in general, have come to a complete halt. Rather than feel like a failure and be hard on yourself, remember to speak to compassionately to yourself, the way you’d speak in encouraging terms to someone you love.
By now everyone knows quarantine is the practice of isolation to prevent the spread of epidemic disease. But did you know it derives from the Italian word “quaranta giorni” meaning “forty days,” the period ships were required to be isolated before passengers and crew could go ashore during the Bubonic Plague, also known as Black Death, the most fatal pandemic recorded in history? At this point, we all wish we were quarantining for just 40 days.
Why the number 40 is so meaningful:
- In Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and other Middle Eastern traditions, 40 is taken to represent a large approximate number, similar to “umpteen” or “a long time.” Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. The great flood lasted 40 days and 40 nights. The Jewish people wandered the desert for 40 years. An ancient Arabic proverb states that “to understand a…
