Paul Virilio on Risking Failure in Trying New Things

Tuesday Quotes are short explorations of music, life, and the daily endeavor of practicing classical guitar. Find more here. Enjoy!

“The invention of the ship was also the invention of the shipwreck.”

Paul Virilio

When we set out to make any change or addition to our lives, the odds are against us. Our habits and patterns are a powerful force striving to keep everything the same. Our innate systems want only the safety of the known.

This is one of the reasons that any great endeavor brings with it the risk of failure. We struggle not only with the task itself. We also swim upstream against our own homeostasis. We may try to sabotage our success in the hopes of preventing pain or embarrassment.

And we know this.

We know that new habits are an uphill journey. And this is why we usually put them off for “later.”

Even in our guitar practice, we may avoid forming habits we believe would benefit us. We may continue the way we’ve practiced in the past, just because it’s comfortable.

Perhaps we’ve wanted to start a practice journal. Or we would like to improve our right-hand technique. Or reading music, memorizing a piece, mastering nerves playing for others… There are myriad areas for exploration.

We often have these in the back of our minds for years, and still we resist starting. It’s work to start something new. There are so many things we don’t know. We’re almost guaranteed to misstep somewhere.

But the upside is worth the risk. It’s worth the effort. Even as we bridge the foggy hinterland this side of competence, it’s worth it.

We may well fail. We may have false starts or become distracted. Ships may sink. But this doesn’t mean we should abandon sailing.