The Success in Failure

It's disappointment, it's sadness, it's a heaviness that can sometimes feel all-consuming. Yes, I'm talking about the feeling that everyone has experienced at least once in their lives: the feeling of failure.

To some people, failure occurs when a goal is not met or when an action produces undesirable results. It can cause people to lose confidence in themselves and feel down. Even just hearing the word failure might send a shudder down people's spine. But what if I told you it didn't have to be this way? What if I told you that some people actually find meaning in failing and use it as fuel to learn instead of an extinguisher?

I know this might sound like an overly optimistic perspective. But I do believe that we can learn a lot from our setbacks and failures. 

After hearing a presentation on failure in class, I was reminded of a time when I failed. I was in Grade 5 and had written a speech on why I thought the weekends should be longer for my language class. By some twist of fate I was selected to be one of the students that had to present a speech in front of the whole school. I remember it like it was yesterday. The year was 2011. The gym was packed with 600-700 students. And I…was terrified. But I marched up to the centre of the gym and presented this speech with all the power that I had in my tiny Grade 5 body. And after it was all said and done, I discovered that I lost. For a moment I was upset, embarrassed, and disappointed in my abilities. Although I was really nervous, it turns out that I really wanted to win the speech competition. It wasn't until I left the gymnasium and was greeted with endless praise and cheers that I realized that I was a winner that day. Yes, I did lose the competition. But I also stepped out of my comfort zone, kept a crowd of people interested for five minutes, learned how I could improve, and maybe inspired people to make weekends longer. Did you hear that some areas are putting three day weekends in place? Did I start that? Probably not, but I still like to think I contributed. Overall, that experience taught me that failure is not always a bad thing. If it wasn't for this experience, I wouldn't have gone on to develop my skills and eventually win a speech competition. 

As a teacher candidate, I think it is important for us to recognize and celebrate the efforts of students instead of focusing on end results. Because in the end, it's effort that will take you where you want to go. There are so many learning opportunities involved in failures. I think that we as teachers should use these opportunities to develop growth mindsets in our students so that they can try again, learn, and grow. Therefore, I can confidently say that I am proud of my failures and to have put so much effort towards a goal. I am grateful to have had opportunities to try again, learn, and improve. I encourage all of you to celebrate the little wins and big efforts, regardless of the outcome.  

Brought to you by: NicoleT@OTU