At some point, Michael Jordan pointed out that even though he’s remembered for hitting game-winning shots and being the most clutch player of all time, he actually missed a lot of them.
The highlight reels don’t show those moments. The stories don’t either. But they happened.
Now imagine if after missing one of his first big shots, Jordan decided he’d never take another.
If one failure was enough to make him give up until he “felt ready” again.
That mindset would’ve erased one of the greatest careers in sports history.
Jordan hated to fail. But he didn’t fear failure.
And more importantly, he didn’t avoid doing the things that lead to success just because he had failed before.
That’s the takeaway here:
Today’s failure doesn’t have to lead to tomorrow’s failure.
Too often, when someone starts working out or eating better, they attach their progress to a perfect streak.
Maybe it’s 30 days. Maybe 60.
But when they miss a workout, or have a few bad meals, they immediately start telling themselves it’s over.
They’ll wait until they feel motivated again, and then start from scratch.
It’s like they believe every streak has to be perfect—and if they mess up on day 8, they need to wait until day 1 of the next perfect block.
But here’s the truth:
Missing 5 or 10 days out of 60 isn’t failure. That’s life. And you can still win.
If you eat 4 meals per day, that’s 240 meals in 60 days.
If 24 of them are higher in calories than you’d like, you’re still at a 90% success rate.
If you go to the gym 15 to 20 times over those 60 days,
you may have missed more than you went—but that’s still 15 to 20 more workouts than before.
If your goal is to walk 10,000 steps a day,
and you hit that goal 50 out of 60 days, that’s a massive success.
The biggest mistake isn’t the missed workout or the weekend of poor eating.
The biggest mistake is what happens next—when someone decides to stop caring,
tells themselves they’ll wait until the timing is perfect again, and lets the days pile up.
Then it’s not one bad day. It’s 30. Then 60.
And when that restart finally happens, it’s often triggered by disappointment, frustration, and a complete loss of confidence.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
The real key to success is shortening the time between “I messed up” and “I’m back.”
- Keep showing up.
- Keep giving effort.
- Keep taking your shots—even when the last one didn’t go in.
Maybe your first 60-day run is only 75% successful.
Then maybe your next one is 80%. Then 85%.
Over time, those numbers compound.
And what separates people who reach their goals from those who keep starting over isn’t perfection—
it’s the decision to keep moving forward, even after a bad day.
You’re allowed to feel disappointed.
But don’t let that disappointment convince you to give up.
You’re only ever one good decision away from being back on track.
– James Pratt