QUOTE OF THE DAY
There’s No Such Thing as a Failed Experiment
“There is no such thing as a failed experiment because learning what doesn’t work is a necessary step to learning what does.”
— Jonas Salk
IDEA OF THE DAY
The Fear Behind Every Big Decision
I was working with a client yesterday, mapping out her action plan for the next few weeks.
At one point, she paused and said:
“But Joyna… what if all of this ends up being a waste? What if I reach out to a bunch of people, learn more about different industries, and then decide I don’t want to pursue this direction… what if I fail?”
The look on her face said everything.
It wasn’t just fear of failing.
It was fear of:
- wasting time
- making the wrong choice
- putting in effort that leads nowhere
And that fear is incredibly common.
Why Failure Feels So Heavy
Failure is uncomfortable.
It stings. It unsettles us. It makes us question ourselves.
And there’s a reason for that.
For most of human history, failure wasn’t just inconvenient—it could mean danger, loss, or even survival consequences. Our nervous system learned to avoid it.
So of course it still feels personal.
But in modern life—especially when it comes to careers, direction, and identity—failure works very differently.
It’s not an ending.
It’s data.
What Failure Actually Does (in Career + Life)
When you’re figuring out your next step, “failure” often looks like:
- realizing a job isn’t the right fit
- talking to someone in an industry and feeling a “no”
- trying something and losing interest halfway through
And while it may feel like you’re going backwards…
You’re actually getting clearer.
Each experience narrows the path:
- what you don’t want
- what drains you
- what feels aligned
- what actually matters to you
A Personal Example of “Useful Failure”
When I first started my own coaching journey, I explored Reiki training.
I was convinced I might become a Reiki healer and open a practice.
A few months in, I realized something important:
I love talking with people.
And in that modality, there wasn’t much space for that.
So I kept exploring.
Some paths felt interesting. Others were total dead ends.
Eventually, I found NLP coaching—which allowed me to connect deeply with people and be creative in how I worked.
But I only got there by trying things that didn’t fully fit.
Reframing What Didn’t Work
Looking back, none of those detours were wasted.
They were information.
They showed me:
- what energizes me
- what doesn’t fit
- what I actually want in my work
And that clarity only came through experience—not theory.
What If Failure Is Actually Progress?
Your client might “fail” in the next few weeks.
But I don’t see it that way.
I see:
- clarity being gathered
- paths being eliminated
- self-understanding deepening
That’s not failure.
That’s direction forming.
An Invitation
If there’s something you’ve been avoiding because you’re afraid of “getting it wrong,” consider this:
You don’t need to choose perfectly.
You just need to stay in motion long enough to learn what’s true for you.
Because sometimes the only way forward is through the thing you were trying to avoid.
A Question to Reflect On
What is my new and improved definition of failure?
Some Reframes to Try On
Failure might be:
- unpaid market research about yourself
- collecting evidence that you are actually trying
- eliminating options like a very confused detective
- proof that you left your comfort zone long enough to learn something
- the awkward middle stage between “I have no idea” and “Ohhh, now I get it”
- a detour that accidentally gives you better directions
- gathering stories you’ll one day use to help someone else
Closing Thought
If you take one thing from this:
You don’t need to avoid failure.
You just need to stop treating it like the enemy.
Sometimes it’s the clearest signal that you’re actually in the process of finding your way.