Permission to Fail with Rachel Simmons -- A Letter From Wild Precious Life Host Annmarie Kelly
When was the last time you did something that scared you? Not just bungee jumping or mountain biking, but even tackling little fears, like talking to a stranger or asking for a raise at work? This week on WILD PRECIOUS LIFE, we chat with author, educator, and executive coach Rachel Simmons about the importance of taking risks and exercising our “failure muscles.” Rachel reminds us that NOT being amazing is actually an important step on our journey to success. We also talk about shortie pajamas and our mutual love for the 1982 film TOOTSIE.
"Confidence is born from self-compassion. Not being amazing is a really important part of the journey to being amazing."
Rachel Simmons is a renowned author who regularly appears on Good Morning America as an expert on gender and parenting. Rachel sat down with me in her red, big comfy chair to talk about the importance of self-compassion, failure, and how it's okay to quit. She opens up about her own failure and for that, we give her a big air high five!
"One of my favorite books is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, in which a boy -- and in the recent movie, a whole family -- has to deal with the curve balls that life throws their way. Somebody botches an interview. Someone flunks his driving test. A teen barfs in public."
That's a little bit what it was like getting this episode out the door. First, we had to reschedule. Then, my guest, Rachel Simmons, was in a mountain biking accident. We began late. Then our audio kept cutting out. We were cranky. And we had to take deep breaths and start again. Afterwards, my first instinct was to hide all those messy parts. Just buff them all out. Nobody needs to catch a glimpse behind the curtain.
But then I got to thinking. Why do we do that? Why do we try so hard to hide our struggles? Why do we pretend everything is perfect when we know, deep down, that it’s not? Everyone has hard days. In fact, part of what Rachel and I talk about in this episode is FAILURE and how what we do in the face of doubt and IMPERFECTION can actually lead to tremendous POSSIBILITY and change. Sometimes it’s only when things do not go our way that we truly discover what we really want.
Wild Precious Life is a show about making real connections. Not just between me and these cool guests but between me and you guys. So, I'm doing that today. I'm keeping it real.
Let's get started.
