In October 2022, I decided to shoot basketball for at least one hour every morning, and I have stayed consistent with the practice for at least 5-6 days weekly. My daily basketball shooting routine has taught me so much about failing and my relationship with failure. When shooting the basketball, one is bound to miss the shots multiple times inevitably, and the will to succeed eventually makes the basketball court a great place to learn about failing and persistence. My basketball routine is my attempt at developing a failure routine, and the more I practice on the court, the more I regulate my relationship with failure. Winston Churchill may be referring to basketball shooting when he said, “Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

Micheal Jordan is considered the greatest basketball player of all time, and even Jordan has a shooting average of around 49%. As Jordan once said, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Failing, missing shots, rebounding, and trying again are woven into the fabric of the basketball game. My daily basketball routine has been a great lesson in humility and has taught me a lot about failure, taking initiative, staying committed and trusting the process.

Other ways I try to experiment daily with a failure routine include writing daily on this blog, pushing my limit daily in the gym, running a business, learning a programming language (python/Java), learning a foreign language (French) and always preparing for a technology certification. These various activities have their different level of difficulty, and it can be frustrating most times when the going gets tough. Still, persistence eventually counts on the path to figuring out anything in life. As Wooden Allen famously said, “80% of success is showing up”.

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Micheal Jordan

Meditation

Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt – Thanksgiving
Gratitude is not always easy to access because we have a negativity bias; the mind naturally pulls towards the negative. There is always something positive to notice, such as our health, senses, family and friends, passions, hobbies, talents, creativity, and that which brings meaning and purpose into our lives. We can even give gratitude for the pain and loss that we experienced and the challenges that have been our best teachers, view our struggles as gifts that have taught us lessons, and deepen ourselves in compassion, wisdom and resilience.

“Whatever our individual troubles and challenges may be, it’s important to pause every now and then to appreciate all that we have, on every level. We need to literally ‘count our blessings,’ give thanks for them, allow ourselves to enjoy them, and relish the experience of prosperity we already have.” ― Shakti Gawain

Daily Jay with Jay Shetty – Intentionality
Psychologists reckon that we make our decisions on autopilot 90% of the time without thinking. When we ask why, it is like turning on a light in a dark room, we are no longer feeling our way around, hoping that we will eventually find the door instead we have a vision and a direction. It also ensures that we are living with purpose.
Instead of being driven by unquestioned impulses and unexamined emotions, we are not living life on autopilot or playing follow the leader. Why is an opportunity to check in on yourself to make sure that your actions align with your values and your priorities.