Making Room For Failure

The statement on the title can be looked at from two different perspectives. The first one is basically on mindset, taking failure into consideration and having this ability to get back up from it and keep moving forward.

The second one, which is more interesting to me is from an environmental perspective.

Certain environments are more welcoming of failure than other environments where failure tends to be avoided at all cost, even though it's always a possibility in whatever we do.

What I've observed with the latter (as in avoiding failure at all cost) is the consequences of failure tends to be a bit over-exaggerated.

Image Source

A Closed View

For example, if a student fails a test or exam, it's often treated as a catastrophic event that may derail their entire academic career.

In reality, it's just a learning opportunity and a chance to identify areas for improvement.

It's kind of opposite to the concept of "freedom to fail". When you have the freedom to fail, the scope of what you can experiment with is higher, growth is more sustainable and long lasting.

As opposed to living in this bubble of sorts, where failure isn't welcomed and success hinges more on walking with the help of crutches than using your own legs.

Much like risk, failure is also an inherent part of life. Part of the main reasons why we fear failure is more of how we perceive failure based on past experiences and second hand knowledge.

If we fail miserably in the past, it stamps a print in our mind, a seed called fear of failure begins to grow and precisely because we consume second hand knowledge of the same thing, the seed begins to germinate, to grow a shoot and become a plant.

If this continues, it then becomes a giant tree and that's when we take the highest defensive point, be in the safe zone at all times.

Doing Away With Stubborn Weeds

But here's the thing, this seed is a weed, in the sense that it chokes out other potential growth. It prevents us from taking risks, trying new things, and ultimately, from evolving as an individual.

Image Source

A garden needs to be tended to keep weeds at bay, our minds need to be cultivated to prevent the fear of failure from overtaking our ambitions and dreams.

Here's where the environmental perspective becomes handy. Now, an environment that makes room for failure doesn't mean celebrating mistakes or encouraging recklessness. That's not the spirit of it.

It's more so about reframing failure as a stepping stone to success and understanding that every setback carries within it the seeds of future triumph. Of course, this is quite obvious but I think it needs to be reinforced always.

In education, this might look like focusing on the learning process rather than just the end result. This is obvious too yet we can't keep our eyes off the end result even if it's temporarily.

For me, it's mostly because of the fear of getting lost that's why I keep a single eye on the end result while the other eye focuses on the process.

On a personal level, making room for failure can be summed into two key points, viewing challenges as opportunities to learn and improve(1), and regularly stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things(2).


Thanks for reading!! Share your thoughts below on the comments.