Failure is an Option
I heard a commercial recently where the company said, “Failure is an option.” As soon as I heard it, I knew I liked it.
Michael Jordan used to say, “I succeed because I have failed.” Because he wasn’t afraid to fail, he wanted the ball in his hands at the end of the game. He was fearless because he was not afraid to fail.
John Wooden’s college coach at Purdue, Piggy Lambert, used to teach that the team that makes the most mistakes wins, a statement that would make most of today’s basketball coaches cringe. But his point was that if you’re playing aggressive and attacking basketball, you’re going to make mistakes and that’s okay. Don’t let the mistakes get you down. Just keep on attacking.
Often we learn more from failure than success.
I once played for a coach who constantly criticized me and my teammates. His continuous yelling could sometimes take away from your aggressiveness because you knew if you failed you would never hear the end of it. I learned a great deal from that coach on how I did not want to coach. It turned out to be a great learning experience.
I disagree with some of today’s educators who are so much into student’s self-esteem that they strive to take failure out of the students’ lives. I think they are cheating the kids. Like all of us, their students will meet with failure in their lives, both personal and professional. Instead of eliminating failure would it not be much more beneficial to teach kids how to deal with it? Learn from it, put it behind you, and move on.
Failure is an option. It is prevalent in business, in athletics, and in every phase of our lives. So, let’s not fear it but learn from it, and continue to aggressively strive for excellence.
I agree with the sentiment. A muscle , much like a personal relationship, grows stronger through the process of failure and repair. The “Killer E’s”- esteem and entitlement, have tried to eliminate the “struggle phase” of life. People are trying to plow the roads for many, eliminating obstacles (which I like to call “challenges) along the way. A pitcher learns and adapts to a pitch that was just deposited in the left field seats. So should we from our own missteps. We must try, and sometimes fail, in order to grow.
Hello Pat,
Based on this article and others you’ve posted, you might enjoy these books:
“The Talent Code” by Daniel Coyle
“Mindset” by Carol Dweck
Enjoy the summer!
Best regards,
Steve Cahill
Coach,
this is so true. Our jobs as educators, coaches, mentors etc., is to prepare students for their lives after they leave us. We do them a tremendous disservice if we do not prepare them for life’s realities; which include the good and the challenging.
Joe
This is the basic and fundamental flaw in youth sports. I always taught my teams over the years that baseball’s purpose in their lives was to teach them to fail, get back up and compete again. I never allowed parents to ride the kids and encouraged my parents and coaches to call me on it if I was negative (especially with my sons).
Terrific article.