What's failure doing for you today?

“Sometimes you’ve got to really fall on your face to change, and I was definitely there.”

Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves pitcher, June 2, 2010, referring to a giving up 7 runs in a game earlier in the year, changing his approach, and achieving greater success.

Motivation

If you want to achieve a better life (and you get to define "better"!), look for motivation to change possibilities everywhere.  Mr. Lowe points to the power of failure as motivation.  It can also provide feedback.  Acceptance of inevitable failure can free your productive powers.

Feedback

Tom Watson, CEO of IBM during its heyday, is often credited with the maxim "Fail faster."  This is another way of looking at how failure can become a path to future success.  It implies both starting now and admitting failure (of a path - not the goal!) sooner.  I am in conversations now about a distance learning effort with an entrepreneur whose developed a new platform to support such efforts.  He talks of finding 500 ways to leverage that platform that didn't work!  Thomas Edison said, "“I haven't failed, I've found 10000 ways that don't work”.

Acceptance

I once heard sports psychologists at the Olympic Training Center talk about how they help ice dancing competitors prepare for politically-influenced judging, i.e., where the winner is chosen on whose turn it is and whether you have "paid your dues", not on the best performer in that competition.  Thinking about and accepting this in advance not only helps competitors bounce back better (resilience), but also helps free them up to perform. 

In a similar vein, the zen story of the tea ceremony master challenged to a duel emphasizes how acceptance of the possibility of failure allows for calm concentration, thereby minimizing the chance of failure.

How are using both the possibility and the experience of failure to move your life forward?  Are you even giving yourself the chance to fail?

Photos:  April 15, 2006 Baseball by Matt McGee, IBM Thinkpad logo closeup by eMaringolo, Japanese Teapot #1 by cyberpunkdreams

Comments

[Surrey Roofers]

Great stuff. Positive Psychology has a place in every businesss...

[Surrey SEO Services]

Tom Watson's book is on my bookshelf and well referenced. I like his philosphy, just a pity others don't follow the same ideas.

[nursing pajamas]

thanks for making my day, this really helps me to move on and start a new beginning. i really appreciate it.