Ask Doctoral Advising


February 16th, 2009   by Lynn RiskedalSubscribe to comments on this post

The positive side of failure.

Jon’s A Purpose Lost post pushed me to ponder failure.  Again.  The concept of failure weaves in and out of our discussions. And I’ve yet to find perfection, so embracing lessons learned is important for me. 

There is a misconception that failure is bad.   It might be IF one doesn’t learn from the experience. Indeed, more might be learned from failure than from success.  What and how do you learn from success?  What is the process of learning from a failure?

Failure exists daily.  I have a saying at my desk: 
LIfe is like a grindstone.  Whether it grinds you down or polishes you up depends on what you are made of.

What are you made of when it comes to failure? How do you react to failure? Are there different levels of failure for you?  Little ones.  Repeated ones.  One big one.

Learning from failure, even if the learning is a struggle–as long as you are struggling, you are showing that you are attempting to learn.  What are the components of that struggle?  For me I question myself.  I wonder where I missed.  I get to the point of asking others for guidance, which leads me to understanding the miss and taking in knowledge. 

So, go out and fail today and beyond.  Be willing to learn from that experience ( say “I’m sorry”, if you need to).  You will grow and be better for it.

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