failure

Repeatedly putting yourself out there and failing to achieve your goals is draining. It's so draining that at some point you begin to question if repeated failures is the universe telling you it's time to pursue other options. Everyone has something they aren't as successful at as they would like, yet we still try over and over.

Unlucky in love? That's ok. Just keep dating. By dating all the wrong ones the right one will come along eventually.
Idle in your career? Keep working hard and putting yourself out there. Your boss will promote you eventually.
You want more than anything to be part of the team, the show, the band, whatever, but you keep falling short. Just keep practicing and going out for it; you're bound to make it sooner or later.

Lucy will never let Charlie kick the damn football; but he never passes on the opportunity to try. We all know what's going to happen, but he still goes for it time and time again. Like everyone else I've been Charlie more than Lucy for sure, but how many times do you try-and fail-at the same thing before you decide to conserve what dignity you have left and just quit? Einstein said it best, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." When does perseverance turn into insanity? It's a fine line, for sure.

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer-I promise I'm perfectly content as I type this. This is something that's weighed on me for a while, so I'm just trying to figure out when it's ok to say 'enough is enough'. If I can do it without being branded bitter or a quitter all the better. In my life I haven't experienced enough of the sweet to fully understand and appreciate the bitter so I think I'm more willing to give up than those who have experienced more of the opposite.

I think society does us a huge disservice by highlighting only the successes of well-known figures and celebrities. For every one over night success is another ten people who worked their asses off for the same success.

I came across this list the other day-I'm sure there are dozens more like it on the interwebs-I can't even vouch for its accuracy. I can say after reading just a few of these stories I don't know whether to be reassured that I can still make it or to be discouraged; because by the looks of it I have a long way to go:

Abraham Lincoln received no more than 5 years of formal education throughout his lifetime. When he grew up, he joined politics and had 12 major failures before he was elected the 16th President of the United States of America. (Some would argue he was one of the best Presidents in American history...)

Thomas Edison developed many devices which greatly influenced life in the 20th century. Edison is considered one of the most prolific inventors in history, holding 1,093 U.S patents to his name. When he was a boy his teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything. When he set out on his own, he tried more than 9,000 experiments before he created the first successful light bulb.

By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. A phenomenal athlete with a unique combination of grace, speed, power, artistry, improvisational ability and an unquenchable competitive desire. Jordan single-handedly redefined the NBA superstar. Before joining NBA, Jordan was just an ordinary person, so ordinary that was cut from his high school basketball team because of his "lack of skill".

Walt Disney was American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, and animator. One of the most well-known motion picture producers in the world, Disney founded a production company. The corporation, now known as The Walt Disney company, makes average revenue of US $30 billion annually. Disney started his own business from his home garage and his very first cartoon production went bankrupt. During his first press conference, a newspaper editor ridiculed Walt Disney because he had no good ideas in film production.

Albert Einstein was a theoretical physicist widely regarded as the most important scientist of the 20th century. He was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics for his explanation of the photoelectric effect in 1905 and "for his services to Theoretical Physics". However, when Einstein was young, his parents thought he was mentally retarded. His grades in school were so poor that a teacher asked him to quit, saying, "Einstein, you will never amount to anything!" *he also failed the entrance exams to the Swiss Polytechnic Institute.

In 1947, one year into her contract, Marilyn Monroe was dropped by 20th Century-Fox because her producer thought she was unattractive and could not act. That didn't deter her at all! She kept on going and eventually she was recognized by the public as the 20th century's most famous movie star, sex symbol and pop icon. (Miss Kristen's note: For the sake of argument we'll pretend that she didn't suffer a complete meltdown due to her lack of confidence in herself.)

John Grisham's first novel was rejected by sixteen agents and twelve publishing houses. He went on writing and writing until he became best known as a novelist and author for his works of modern legal drama. The media has coined him as one of the best novel authors even alive in the 21st century.

If that (partial) list isn't interesting enough here are a few more.

• Muhammad Ali graduated 376th from a high school class of 391 students.

• Julia Roberts auditioned for All My Children but didn’t get the part.

• Dick Cheney flunked out of Yale University—twice.

• Let's not forget about Donald Trump. He is known for his Phoenix-like comebacks.

Maybe I'll keep trying--for now, anyway...