With the Super Bowl coming up today, I thought this would be an appropriate quote for all of us.

Certainly no athlete can be successful without knowing how to accept and learn from failure. And it’s just as apparent that no human being can grow and find meaning and joy in life without letting failure become a friend rather than a foe.

I have failed as a writer, a partner, a parent, and a person more times than I can possibly count. And there have been times when those failures have come with great pain, paralyzing me, or even pulling me back into the immaturity of defensiveness and fear. But my eventual success in all of these areas grows out of the times I have faced my failures with honesty and used them as a springboard to a better me.

So as you watch those super players today — or perhaps you have something better to do — keep in mind the multitude of mistakes, shortcoming, boneheaded decisions, and failures that have brought them to this incredible moment of their lives. And keep in mind yours as well.