When I was a teacher, I impressed upon my students that failure was part of the learning process. “Imagine where you’d be today,” I’d tell them, “if, as an infant, you were afraid of falling and skinning your knees to the extent that you decided to stay in your crib. Failure,” I went on, “is the first step toward success and the compass that allows you to look back to see the path that led to your success.”
Believing, as I did, in what I told those youngsters years ago, it wasn’t surprising that I’d be drawn to an article entitled, “How to Fail Successfully.” What I learned there was that the Harvard Business Review devoted an entire issue to the subject of failure. As writer Liza Mundy reports, their research confirmed that failure is “an experience to be valued and even sought… To attempt something difficult and fail at it shows that your are pushing past your existing skill set.” (“How To Fail Successfully,” by Liza Mundy, More, Dec/Jan 13-14, pg. 98)
Women, apparently, find it easier to accept failure than men because they identify less with their work and professional achievements and more with family, community and friendships. These networks soften disappointing blows and make it possible to try again. Unfortunately, women internalize their failures and blame themselves for their setbacks. (Ibid pg. 98)
The reverse side of the coin is that when they succeed, woman tend to suffer what Mundy calls the “imposter syndrome:” a feeling of being a fraud and likely to be found out. (Ibid, pg. 100) Happily, women overcome these negatives as they mature and gain greater experience. (Ibid 98)
Of course, no one is saying failure is an end in itself or something to be pursued. But it is an event that should invite introspection. My father never went to Harvard but he always used to tell me, “Learn from your mistakes.”
(Courtesy of angelfilmawards.com)
