I don’t know how to fail.

Failure is a state of mind. It’s a construct — a negative one — that we often accept without question. But what if we chose not to?

One of the greatest life lessons I’ve ever learned came from my oldest son when he was just five years old. Out of the blue one day, he looked at me and said, “I don’t know how to miss!” I was caught off guard, so I asked him what he meant. He replied confidently, “Dad, I make buckets!”

Naturally, we headed to the gym. He picked up a basketball, took a shot — swish. Then another. And another. Three in a row. He turned to me with a big smile and said, “See Dad, I don’t know how to miss!”

In that moment, something clicked. He wasn’t just talking about basketball. He was focused on the outcome he wanted, not the one he feared. He didn’t even entertain the idea of missing. His mindset was wired for success — not because he was perfect, but because he chose to believe in the possibility of making it.

That moment reshaped how I view challenges, setbacks, and so-called “failures.” I began to adopt a new mantra:
“I don’t know how to have a bad day.”
“I don’t know how to fail.”

Because failure, I realized, is often just a label we assign to outcomes that didn’t meet our expectations. But what if we reframed those moments as lessons instead of losses?

I don’t believe in failure as a final destination. I believe in learning. I believe in growth. I believe in showing up, trying again, and choosing to focus on what’s possible — not what went wrong.

Losing isn’t failing. It’s feedback. It’s information. It’s an opportunity to adjust, evolve, and come back stronger. But failure — the kind that paralyzes us, that makes us give up — that’s a mindset. And it’s one I refuse to adopt.

So now, just like my son, I shoot to make it. I live to grow. And I choose to believe that I don’t know how to fail — because I’m always learning how to win.

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