David Campbell reminded us that failure is a big part of Ninja Warrior

After being locked out of Instagram for a day, along with thousands of others, we eagerly scrolled through the social media platform this morning. A post from American Ninja Warrior OG David Campbell caught our attention. The photo seemed familiar. We knew where that font was from.

David, who has competed on every season of the show, shared a quote from an interview we did with him during season 11. It was a reminder of how much we love the opportunity we have with this site to share a competitor’s authentic words. And how those words inspire others.

David shared this quote from the article: “Dealing with failure is probably the hardest part of American Ninja Warrior. The nerves are probably the second hardest part, dealing with what comes before your run. Staying out of your own head. But that goes away after you run the course. What stays with you, and eats at you, and haunts your nightmares for years is, the thing you could have done just a tiny bit different.”

He didn’t include the very last line of the quote, which we think is also so powerful.

“You just have to realize that the past is the past and you can’t change it, so you’ve just got to let it go.”

David’s words resonated with his fellow competitors. Michelle Warnky Buurma shared the post and added:

“So true! Tiny split second mistakes that lead to big disappointments! But thankfully, we learn a lot from those mistakes. That doesn’t mean they are easy to deal with. Grateful for all I’ve learned thru failure & success on Ninja Warrior! Countless tears and smiles!

James McGrath added: “Honestly it’s been so long since I hit the course that all that’s left is the hunger and the drive to achieve my goals once I get the shot again.

Ryan Stratis commented: “Is this a part of a full article somewhere? More people need to know about this side of competing.”

If you’d like to read the full, original interview with David Campbell, you can find it below.

While David was discussing American Ninja Warrior, his words can apply to all our lives. Every day in our jobs, and our personal lives, we work towards goals. We make decisions. Some will go the way we hoped, and others won’t.

We all have to learn from those moments and move forward, not allowing the obstacles to derail our dreams.