Hi all –
We’ve discussed success for awhile now. But what about the other side of the coin? By that I mean failure. Is there any value in failure?
Probably you have heard the expression “Failure is not an
option!” This is said by coaches
to their teams or military commanders to their troops. The idea is that the possibility of not
winning the upcoming contest is not even to be acknowledged. There is only winning.
Can you imagine saying that to your baby who is learning to
walk? They are continually failing. They stand up on wobbly legs, find
where mommy is, and start to move in her direction. Then Plunk!, down they go. Do they give up?
No. They try again. Plunk! Down they go.
Then up again, a few steps this time before the Plunk! Eventually they reach their goal and
are very happy. I’ve never heard
of a toddler who was depressed when he reached his goal because he was unhappy
with the number of times he fell.
What is happening, though? Through continual failure, the child is improving. The failures are, in fact, teaching
moments. And the failures become
less frequent.
Yet, somehow, by the time we are adults, we have often
forgotten that failures are teaching moments. Rather, we see them as reflections of our own imperfections
and the basis of our shame.
Some of us become afraid to try new things because there is
a high risk of failure and failure is not a comfortable option. To fail just means reinforcing that
critical part of ourselves that too often reminds us of our poor performance.
If we can remember our earliest lessons of failure and how
they led us to learn new skills, then perhaps we can embrace failure as a
teaching tool and use it in our lives now to expand our horizons.
Wishing you success (even through failure!) always!
Kevin
Reminder: If you are unsure about the meaning of the
idioms used in this message, please refer to "Idioms, Figures of Speech,
and Proverbs" posted on this blog in August 2013. An alternative is
to look at http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com
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