I think there is a difference between considering an event a failure, rather than a person, and shirking responsibility.

If you blame fate for everything, you are shirking responsibility.

But if you consider a person a failure, you are discounting that person's worth. A failure IS an event. It's an action of a person, whose attempt didn't quite meet the mark this time. That PERSON is not a failure, their ACTION is a failure. The person IS NOT a failure, they FAILED.

There is a difference between BEING something and DOING something. And in my opinion, THAT is the point of the quote.

I didn't pipe up because I had no commment until now, but I "got it" and I liked the quote a LOT, LOT, LOT. It was definitely something I needed to hear right now in my life.

angela