I would win it.  I’m sure I could.  The one thing my friends and family always seem to say is how no matter what I pick myself up and keep going.  (That’s when they are trying to be nice…)

Things go wrong for everyone.  I used to get stressed when they did.  But now I look at my failures not just for lessons to learn (about what not to do) but also for opportunities.

The truth is, I like starting over.  I do it a lot when I’m playing my favorite computer game.  I like to try different things.  Sometimes I try to do things better, but sometimes I just want to see what would happen if I did something really outrageous. (Like start a nuclear war… it’s just a video game after all.)

Life would be more fun if we could look at it like a video game and not like “life and death” all the time.  There are a lot of things in life that really aren’t “life and death,” and yet we treat them like they are.

Failure is just a chance to begin again, to rebuild and do things better this time.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a server crash (like the one that has me rebuilding this website), a failed marriage, a missed rent payment, or a lost job.  We can always go forward and make things better.

You can find a better spouse.  It’s true.  If your marriage failed than the one you left (or who left you) wasn’t really that great in the first place.  We all deserve someone who can love us for who we really are.  How many failed marriages are the result of people who are trying (and failing) to be someone that they are not… but someone who will please their spouse?

And jobs, well, I know they are tought to find these days, but there are always better jobs out there.  And if there isn’t a better job, then maybe you can make a better job by starting your own business and doing things the way you think they should be done.  Maybe even doing things you love to do?

If you are trying to cope with a failure in your life, or to pick up the pieces and start over, don’t be afraid to enjoy the process and believe that the new life you are beginnig will be even better than the old life that wasn’t working out that great anyway.

It can be better.  You can make it better.  And you can let go of any guilt or depression or embarassment that you are feeling over the old stuff that didn’t work out.  Just imagine if there was an award for starting over… now, go win that award!