I Fail. Therefore, I Succeed.

As kids we’re taught that the key to academic achievement is to avoid being wrong.

As adults we work in companies that stigmatize mistakes.

In fact, we live in a society focused on mitigating risks. So then, is it really any wonder that we have a tendency to avoid failure at all costs?

To me, the irony in all this is that in order for us to be successful we need to take chances. We need to be prepared to be wrong and, harder still we have to find the will to persevere and move past the humiliation and embarrassment of failure.

As we all know from personal experience, failure can be paralyzing. I think this is why I for one am absolutely captivated by stories of people who have the resilience to push past failure and achieve great success. After all, these individuals didn’t know there would be a huge payoff. In fact, there was a far greater likelihood that they would spend their lives toiling away at something without any real success. So then I wonder, what is it about some people that enables them to bounce back from rejection and move on when others would likely give up?

What is it that kept Michael Jordan from quitting basketball after being cut from his high school team his sophomore year? Why didn’t J.K. Rowling give up after her book about a boy wizard had been rejected by 12 publishers? And what kept Walt Disney from listening to the newspaper editor who fired him for lacking imagination?  

According to psychologists like Stanford University professor, Albert Bandura, individuals who achieve great success often share certain character strengths. Most notably, their “grit” is rooted in something Bandura refers to as “self-efficacy”, a steadfast personal belief that they have what it takes to succeed despite what others may think. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that these individuals have outsized egos and think they are great at everything. Rather, they possess confidence in specific abilities, and they believe that their hard work and persistence will enable them to beat the odds.  

So, if you’re like me you may be wondering, is this mindset innate? For some people it is. But here’s the good news! According to the psychologists, we’re all capable of developing a resilient mindset. Mastery of a task helps. Modeling the behavior of a successful person helps. Using positive affirmations to stay optimistic and avoiding self-defeating assumptions is also important.

So, great news! Success is within your grasp! But first, you have to be willing to fail.

This much I know.

-Jeanine