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by Jodie44 on January 24th, 2006
Just a thought, but it appears as though you've succeeded at failure. If you achieve your objective, then your endeavor is a success. So, it sounds like you managed to pull off screwing up. Congratulations! You could learn a few things from me, BTW. Not to brag or anything, but I can screw up without even making it a goal. Just lucky, I guess.
People seem to be having trouble understanding this one, so let's play it out with an example.
Let's say...I'm taking a class in auto repair, at the urging of my boyfriend. But I'm sick of the guy and want out of the relationship, and don't give a hoot about repairing cars, so I've decided to leave the class. Only graceful way out, however, is to screw up the mid-term, so that's what I decide to do: Fail the exam.
I take the exam, get my score and it's a big fat F. Hooray!
Here's what happened. I did exactly what I wanted to do: fail the exam. I set out to fail and BINGO! I did.
"If you try to fail AND succeed what have you done?"
I tried to fail, and succeeded. Put another way, I succeeded at failing (in this case, the exam).
Some people are apparently reading the question as, "If you try to fail, BUT you mess that up and succeed anyway, what have you done?"
In that case, you would have screwed up in your attempt at failure.
But the Q is "If you try to fail AND succeed..."
You have to read the unspoken part. The long version would be:
"If you try to fail, and you succeed at trying to fail, what have you done?"
by notstirred on June 11th, 2008
You have failed to succeed...but succeeded to fail.Matter of perspective!
by Mr. Meaulnes on February 24th, 2008
Both.
You have failed at what you were trying to fail at, but you have also succeeded in your efforts to fail.
by Anonymous on September 12th, 2007
You have basically followed the 'logic' of a friend of mine who figured out that if he bacame a Satanist and tried to be good, the Devil would banish him to Heaven....
Now my head is starting to hurt again....
by Lonewolfkg on September 12th, 2007
You have painted a picture of a circle. The circle is motion in the universe, and there can be not failure of succuss but on points of view at the circle.
by KitchenRaider on December 8th, 2006
If you try to fail, but you succeed, then you fail, because what you wanted to do, you didn't do. BUT since you failed, you succeeded, but then since you succeeded, you failed, but since you failed you succeeded, but since...
It goes in circles.
success = failure & failure = success
Therefore you succeed and fail at the same time. If that's possible.
by Nulinvoid on September 23rd, 2006
This is an interesting conundrum. It actually brings to mind a "no-fail" scenario that many people with fear of success use to "play safe". "If I plan to fail, I can't help but succeed. If I fail, it's what I planned anyway, therefore I succeed. If I succeed in spite of my plan for failure, I have succeeded as well." It's basicaly a mindset that excuses failure. Either way, you fool yourself into believing you win.
So the answer is: IN YOUR OWN MIND you can't fail with a plan like that. I'ts basically nothing more than a way to fool yourself.
by al read on July 1st, 2006
You have succeeded for now...just be careful not to become jaded...
by Rezza92 on July 22nd, 2009
neither because if your tryint 2 fail say a test and fail that test then u have succeeded at failing which means u failed because u succeded at failing and it jus keeps going on and on
by mszariyah on October 27th, 2008
You have failed at failing. The goal is the end result not the consequence. The success is actually a twist or the beginning of a new situation.
by Mimmay on February 24th, 2008
You have succeeded in failing. So essentially, you have failed.
by Yeux on November 8th, 2007
Your intentions were to succeed failure and you won. So therefore you succeeded.
by SABOTEUR on September 12th, 2007
Succeeded in failing.
by Eltinwe has a life Swan - DYOH on May 15th, 2007
Yes.
by Firebrand on May 15th, 2007
You have succeeded in failing in your objective.
It may not be exactly what you meant to do but it is a pretty good way of failing :)
by ONLY138 on May 15th, 2007
You succeed in being a failure.
Basically then you suck....you should never try to fail.
by FreeSpirit on May 15th, 2007
You've suceeded to fail. I think you break even with that one.
by Leprechaun on May 15th, 2007
Oh tough one, well I guess you succeed , because you did after all do what you set out to do.
by ImNotLikeYou on January 2nd, 2007
You've succeeded at failing, didn't you know that? Every failure of a person has to have a sucess in it somewhere.
by tomsims on December 16th, 2006
It's a funny question, but it has real truth in it. If you know that the road to success is paved with multiple failures and you get on that road anyway, you know that you will fail. If you fail enough, you will eventually succeed if you learn from your failures ... so ... I would say that you suceeded at something.
by branciforte3241 on December 16th, 2006
Since no one else mentioned it, you should watch the definitive work on this subject, The Producers. This movie has just been re-produced, now with Nathan Lane and Mathew Brodrick, instead of Zero Mostel and gene Wilder. It is the story of two men to oversell a theatre play which they are sure is going to fail, so they can declare a loss and keep the investments. Instead the play, Sringtime For Hitler, becomes a huge success. It is a classic.
by GARY MARSHALL on December 16th, 2006
Your have facceeded
by Firebrand on December 16th, 2006
You have succeeded to fail and reached your goal because you obviously will not be happy with the result
by Anonymous271 on December 15th, 2006
You fail.
by Littlemisswallflower on December 8th, 2006
you're failing. because you were setting out to fail-which would be to suceed. thus suceeding in something you wished to have failed in, making sucess in that case failure.
get it? I seemed to have confused myself, but I'm pretty sure that actually makes sense.
by Nikkixoxo on December 8th, 2006
utterly confused yourself. I know I have.
by Monker45 on December 8th, 2006
If your goal is to succeed at failing then you have succeeded.
If by chance you do not succeed at failing and fail at failing then you have failed.
by biketroy on December 8th, 2006
You've Tried
by BobSaccamano-is-back on December 8th, 2006
you become the world's most successful failure :)
by TaiChiChuan on September 23rd, 2006
You have failed in reaching your goal because of a self-defeating attitude. People will do almost anything to get out of something they can't stand!!!. From breaking a leg to being run over by a car. That's when the person says, "Well, I'm glad I don't have to do that BS again. That's when they think they have succeeded. We are too complexed for are own good.
by Photon on July 26th, 2006
You've succeeded at failing, and failed at the task you succeeded at failing at.
by GEM216 on July 15th, 2006
YOU'RE ALL WRONG...
Q: If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
A: You may have either succeeded to succeed, and failed to fail, or you may have succeeded to fail, and failed to succeed.
(Or: You could either say that you have failed in failing to succeed, and that you have failed in succeeding to fail, and that you have succeeded in succeding to succeed, thus you have succeeded, or you could say that you have succeeded in succeding to fail, and that you have succededed in failing to succeed, and that you have failed in failing to fail, thus you have failed.)(Any way you say it, it still makes perfect sense, no matter what you were trying to do.)
Q for comment: Have you ever failed in trying to fail?
xgem216x@aol.com
by Chiggsy on July 1st, 2006
You failed.
by Moriah on June 8th, 2006
you've succeeded to fail. So basically, you've succeeded.
by The Oracle on March 13th, 2006
Isn't it obvious? You have succeeded to fail.
by TaiChiChuan on February 3rd, 2006
You have tried not to succeed at all!
by Syll_D on February 3rd, 2006
you succeeded to succeed, but failed to fail
by huggy1 on February 3rd, 2006
You have achieved your given aim
by Anonymous on January 31st, 2006
You have failed at trying to succeed, it means that you tried to succeed, but failed.
by WussiePussieHasLetHimselfOutOfTheBag on December 8th, 2006
You have then achieved paradox. Stop hassling thee denizens of the illusionary dimensions & put yr superior mind to good use (mind you, the best use I have found for that so far IS to create mental growing pains in those brave/foolish enough to try to extend their perceptions by taking me seriously...) ok ok i know im a tease.......
by genericdust on November 1st, 2010
you have plagorized 'Murphy's Laws", and the boomerang effect will mess with your psyche for years to come.... just kidding.... :)
One cannot try: you either do or don't do something. So removed the nullified words "try to" from the question and you have answered your own question.
" IF YOU ____ FAIL AND SUCCEED, YOU HAVE FAILED AND SUCCEEDED ! "
by breakstress on February 1st, 2010
It's in the details, I think.
If you try to fail at making terrible Macroni and Cheese,
And you completely succeed, then wouldn't you have made
Delicious Macroni and Cheese?
by Marky Mark on February 18th, 2010
You have failed in one thing and succeeded in another.
by freakyty45 on April 20th, 2010
Success and failure are not mutually exclusive, and the word "which" does not necessarily mean "one or the other". Therefore the answer is "BOTH!"
by onzanzabarsands on December 8th, 2006
I believe you may have just secured yourself a place in the Guiness Book of World Records....
by Darryl61 on December 8th, 2006
You have shown yourself to be an under-achieving loser. Anybody who tries to fail is pathetic.
by aivzdog on October 24th, 2008
you succeeded at failing
by Mastodon on October 27th, 2008
A Homer?
by CaRbOnPrOdUcK is Baccuss on October 27th, 2008
Both. You fell into succeed.
by GREMLIN on January 27th, 2010
You've just screwed yourself out of another welfare check.
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When you are sick, you....
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Comments
LOL, Jodie, you're not the only one :-)
by HungryGuy on January 28th, 2006
Lol, nice answer :D
by Joshua Zambrano on February 4th, 2006
Well, the question was.. "If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?" ..And not..ie. "If you try to fail, and succeed <i>at failing<i>, what have you done?" ..this conundrum is what I like to call a "double
by GEM216 on September 21st, 2006
Jodie, you are very funny.
by Alonzo Garbonzo on September 19th, 2006
Quote- -"You have to read the unspoken part."-
How can you read into something that isn't there? I mean, there are no context clues to make such an assumption.
by GEM216 on September 21st, 2006
So, hmmm..I wonder..Who posted this ridiculass question?
by GEM216 on September 22nd, 2006
Asking these meaningless questions is, well...
We need better questions than this, for humanity's sake.
by LR on February 19th, 2011