The concept of failure is often shrouded in negativity, perceived as a seven-letter symbol of defeat. From an early age, society teaches us to view failure as something to be avoided at all costs. In school, failure is met with poor grades, parental lectures, and pressure to improve without the knowledge of how. In the workplace, it can lead to dismissal, demotion, and ridicule. We learn that failure is not an option and must be avoided. This fear of failure casts a long shadow, creating a mindset that risk-taking and innovation are bad.
Yet, there's a critical misunderstanding about failure that needs to be addressed: failure is not just beneficial; it's essential for growth and success. My life's most valuable lessons and achievements have emerged from repeated failures, not from avoiding them. As children, we are allowed—even expected—to fail as part of the learning process. But as we grow older, the tolerance for failure diminishes, leading to a culture where the fear of failing prevents us from taking risks and ruins our potential for growth.
Consider the dynamics within large corporations. It's not the senior executives in their polished suits who innovate; their aversion to risk keeps them performing just the minimum. Instead, it's the "small guys," the interns, who dare to think outside the box. Their perceived low stakes allow them to embrace risks, fostering innovation. This highlights a critical issue: the aversion to failure hampers improvement. Here's a controversial truth: real learning necessitates failure.
Allow me to explain—during my high school years, I had a keen interest in machinery, equipment, and design. Naturally, when our school acquired new CNC machines, I was eager to use them. However, a significant challenge presented itself: very few people in the school knew how to program the machines to execute the desired designs. Even the teachers were still learning, and the students who possessed this knowledge were reluctant to share, guarding their expertise closely. After all, we had only one machine, and if everyone knew how to program it, access would become highly competitive.
I decided to take matters into my own hands — navigating without assistance in an era before YouTube tutorials became a go-to resource. My only guides were trial and error, complemented by the occasional piece of advice from an upperclassman. As one might expect, this path was littered with setbacks. I created program after program, all of which failed to work. In fact, I spent almost the entire school year without a single success until something remarkable happened: I cracked the code. My program finally worked, allowing me to operate the machine successfully. The sense of achievement I felt was immense.
Yet, the most profound insight came afterward. Embarking on a second project, I found the coding process unexpectedly straightforward. Having failed so many times before, I had developed a clear understanding of what not to do, which, essentially guided me on what to do. Consequently, I completed the second project in less than a day—a stark contrast to the year of failures that had preceded it. This experience taught me that a year of failures could provide more valuable lessons than a single success.
This lesson has stayed with me throughout my life, reinforcing the idea that failure is not something to be feared or avoided. As we age, we should not become more risk-averse but rather embrace the opportunities to learn and grow that failure provides. The fear of stagnation should motivate us to take chances, experiment, and accept the possibility of failure. After all, failure is an integral part of the journey towards success. It teaches us resilience, sparks creativity, and ultimately makes us stronger.
Therefore, I encourage you to reframe your perception of failure. See it not as a setback but as a stepping stone towards greater achievements. Embrace risks, welcome failure, and learn from it. In doing so, you will discover that the path to success is paved with the lessons learned from each failed attempt. Start today: fail, learn, and then fail better. With each failure, you're one step closer to success, armed with the knowledge of what doesn't work and the confidence to pursue what does.