Have you ever been so afraid of failing at something that you never bothered to try? Why do we let fear of failure stop us from trying? What will happen if we fail? How will we feel if we don't try? What will happen if we succeed? Is the reward worthwhile? Can we afford to avoid failure? What is life if we only attempt those things at which we know we will succeed? What is success without failure?
These are the questions filling my mind after re-watching JK Rowling's talk on the fringe benefits of failure. I am particularly interested in the question about whether or not we can afford to avoid failure. Rowling talks about the benefits that she received as part of failure, one of which being the stripping away of the inessential. Failure was so uncomfortable and unpleasant it forced her to succeed. It seemed that she could not let failure be the end of the road for her. Success was the end and if she failed than she wasn't done working yet. My successes are more rewarding after having to work hard and overcome the obstacles. I can get the same grade in two classes, get the same grade on two tests, but it is the one which was more difficult for me that gives me the most joy at the end.
I am reminded of a quote from Batman Begins. "Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." Why do we fail? So that we can succeed. Almost always our failure will show us a weakness that can be strengthened or some way to improve upon our plan, our product, or ourself. The things that we can and should learn from our failures will be invaluable to our successes. We can learn them no other way. The things learned from failure will also be invaluable to us personally as a way to come to know ourselves and understand our humanity.
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