Failure

Is there anything more human than failure? We’re not robots or automatons programmed to perform a simple (or even complex) function perfectly every time. We’re complicated, beautifully imperfect creatures that fail…often.

But failure isn’t the problem. It’s the way failure has been framed in our culture and society. Failure has been labeled as something bad that indicates inadequacy or shame (and we’ve definitely internalized that sentiment). We even tend to treat failure as an identify (“I’m a failure”) instead of an event (“I failed in that moment”). Or we tend to hold on to failures as battle scars. I mean how often have we heard “failure is not an option!”? Talk about unnecessary pressure and unrealistic expectations!

But what if we viewed failure as just another part of the human journey? We tend to downplay our successes and obsess about our failures. But what if we treated them as equal partners? I’d argue most successes are actually born from failure. “Well, that didn’t work. Let me try something else.”

Failures simply present an opportunity for us to learn and grow, not wallow in guilt (like society seems to want us to do).

I’m currently (re)learning how to play guitar. I fail every time I play a melody (who knew that playing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star would be that hard!?). But each time I miss a string or a note or timing, I learn something so it sounds better the next time I play. Is it frustrating? At moments, sure. But I also know this is part of the process. I’m going to fail. A lot. And that’s ok.

And that goes for just about everything in life. I’ve had failures at every place I’ve ever worked, without exception. But those failures forced me to explore what went wrong and why; it made the successes I achieved that much better.

I’ve certainly had to have a mindset shift about failure over the years (I definitely beat myself up in my younger years), but I now go into projects with a very different attitude. I embrace the failures. I treat them as a friend. I talk to them (and sometimes they talk back). I acknowledge them. And I learn from them. And I tweak and adjust (or outright change) an approach based on what my failures are teaching me. Is it always smooth sailing? Uh...no. There are moments I just have to walk away and come back later.

I’ll close today with the immortal words of Thomas Edison: “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

To failing!

Until next week.

Andy

(All written content created the old-fashioned way.)