How to Succeed at Failure
Three takeaways:
- This article provides practical advice on turning a major disappointment or failure into a life-defining opportunity for personal growth.
- A first step is realizing that “ruminating over a failure keeps it front and center and can lead to catastrophizing” – making it much more drastic in your mind than it is in reality. This can lead you to depression and anxiety, and then more failure.
- Brooks offers three handy tips for contextualizing failure in a productive way, based on conversations with Xiaodong D. Lin, a professor of cognitive studies at Columbia University’s Teachers College who has spent decades studying human failure.
- Think About Other’s Past Failures (As Well as Your Own)– One must take the time to remember that even the most successful people have failed and slipped up countless times. At the same time, analytically breaking down your own failures can lead to a sense of control and understanding that alleviates frustration.
- Stop Angling for Success– Chasing success above all else is a mistake. Remember that perfection is unattainable, and you will learn gradually to see the progress in each setback- and that the sting of failure is temporary.
- Keep Your Ideals Front and Center– Nobel Prize winners do not set out to win the Nobel Prize. They set out to solve specific problems. To make new discoveries. A failure committed in the pursuit of a goal or purpose will more easily translate to productive learning.
- People who pursue a greater sense of well being find meaning, learning, and purpose in their failures– using them to grow stronger and more effective.
From Arthur C. Brooks at The Atlantic:
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