CAN YOU BE A SUCCESSFUL FAILURE

[CROWN COUNCIL]

Who would guess that the answer is “yes.”  You can be a successful failure.  Some recent research has revealed that there are some very desirable aspects about what you might consider to be a failure. 

 

Psychologists have discovered to their satisfaction that every mistake generates two distinct reactions within the brain.  One is that you are stupid to have made a mistake.  The other focuses on the failure and tries to learn from it.

 

In one significant research exercise, one group was praised in a general way for being “smart.”  They tended to slip into a fixed mind-set and regularly concluded that making mistakes was a sign of stupidity and that there was nothing redeeming about it.

 

Another group was praised for their efforts on specific projects.  They became more willing to explore and less cautious about making mistakes .  They routinely looked for lessons learned from failure and were more willing to move ahead.

 

The conclusion of the researchers is that people learn best when they make mistakes, and that some people are able to translate their failures into successes while others fail again and again.  So don’t worry about failure, just learn from it and move ahead and become a successful failure