#6 Normalizing Failure: a Barefoot DNF with Rebecca Roache

2023-10-03

Rebecca Roache is associate professor of philosophy at the University of London, and host of The Academic Imperfectionist podcast. Her book,”For F*ck's Sake: Why Swearing is Shocking, Rude, and Fun” will be published by Oxford University Press in November 2023. You’ll hear her fascinating story about a later-in-life start to running and why she runs without shoes. Plus, insights on how swearing can help your running! In this conversation we talk about failure–how it sucks and most of us avoid it. But, Rebecca says you shoul...

You’ll hear her fascinating story about a later-in-life start to running and why she runs without shoes. Plus, insights on how swearing can help your running!

In this conversation we talk about failure–how it sucks and most of us avoid it. But, Rebecca says you should look failure square in the face and learn from it. She shares lessons from a recent failure: 20 miles into running a marathon barefoot she opted for a DNF (did not finish).

This was one of many chats I’ve had with Rebecca, and I love each one. She’s witty and wise, plus that British accent! I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did.

Favorite quotes:

* Take it easy and go slowly is good advice. I found that the hard way.

* Being a perfectionist is being afraid of failure, and we’re seeing failure as anything that’s not perfect.

* We constantly fail to meet our expectations…but it’s not killing us.

* It’s not like we fail and fall apart, it’s just part of life.

* It’s not the end of the story. Think past failure.

Links:

Rebecca’s book: For F*ck's Sake

Her website: The Academic Imperfectionist

Rebecca’s Facebook

Product mentions:

Rainbows & Sprinkles | Funky Feel-Good Activewear Clothing