An interesting question was posted to me this week.  Not a new question certainly, but one I’ve been pondering anew for the last several days.  Failure is an interesting concept.  Failure is universal.  EVERYONE has failed at something at some time or another, I dare say,  numerous times.  Even those who don’t think they’ve failed have. Usually when one does something many times, they either become a pro or they begin to lose their fear, but with failure, it’s exactly the opposite.  The more we fail, the less we want to and the more we fear it.

In school, failure is signified by a big red “F“.  While it is only a letter written or printed on paper, the very idea of it is cause for disappointment, embarrassment or more.  Receiving one can result in, at the very least, a lesser grade point average, at the most, punishment from parents, and judgement from teachers.  I remember that the only “F” I ever received on a report card came my senior year of high school in a brand new class called “computer science”.  Those who know me may now understand why I tend to shy away from technology.

This flies in the face of what we’re telling our kids of course.  Making mistakes means you’re trying.  Everyone makes mistakes.  But when we make a judgement based on those mistakes, rate or rank someone,  we immediately negate these supposed encouraging statements.  Sure, it’s okay to make mistakes, but if you make too many, you have a lesser grade, or you’re kicked off a team or you’re fired from a job.  We tell people we learn from mistakes, but at some point we decide that there have been too many mistakes and action must be taken.  I wonder what that magic number is?

So, what if we knew we couldn’t fail?  Would there be an impetus for us to try harder? For us to change direction?  For us to try something new?  While failure can defeat some people, for others it becomes a challenge.  Okay, this didn’t work, but what if I did this instead?  Failure opens up an opportunity for more creativity because you have to come up with another way to succeed.  So, maybe the key is teaching people how to stay encouraged when they’re feeling discouraged after making yet another mistake.

The other thing to be considered is how long and how well you have pursued whatever it is you’re trying to succeed at.  Malcolm Gladwell said in his book “Outliers” that the magic number was 10,000 hours to master something.  I would suspect there would be a  few mistakes even after you’ve gained mastery.  However now, that’s been slightly debunked.  Now, it seems it takes 10 years of deliberate practice specifically aimed at whatever we’re working on.  Now, take this research and apply it to learning in school today.  When you only spend a couple of days teaching a 1st or 2nd grader how to tell time, there will be no mastery to test.  The more we practice, the better we will get, no matter how much time it is, but mastery comes at a cost and with much failure during that 10 year period.

How many people have the patience today to spend that kind of time mastering something?  I don’t mean just performing a job, but really mastering an art or skill? The way we teach today, everything comes fast and furious; we have to get through the concept so we can get to the next. There’s very little opportunity for an individual student to progress as their own pace.  So I wonder how many kids lose that opportunity for mastery because there cannot be that individual deliberate practice?  If the kid can keep up, great for them.  If not, all we do is say they’re below grade level.

So, the answer to the question is, I have to anticipate failure because it’s part of gaining mastery.  If I decide to learn or do something new, that has to be part of the consideration.  So, it becomes a question of whether it is worth the risk of failure.  Do I have a plan when failure occurs? Am I willing to continue the quest towards mastery despite judgement from others?  And does my striving towards mastery of something new inspire others to do the same?

This morning I had the privilege of listening to a 93 year old teacher who shared with us, that after a lifetime of working in music education, she was looking at new research in how music affects those with dementia.  She was looking forward to what she could learn about this and how she could begin to make a difference in people’s lives through music.  This is a person who has never had to consider what she would do if she knew she couldn’t fail.  She isn’t afraid of failure because she knows life is all about continuing to learn.  And I’m thinking if that doesn’t inspire me to try something new, nothing will.