As students go through their academic career, many will find obstacles and experience difficulty along the way. However, failure does not mean giving up, and should instead be embraced as a means of learning.
Failure is something that is feared by many, as it is considered to be a shameful occurrence, depicting one’s inferiority or inability to do something.
According to Psychology Today, too few organizations employ a culture that encourages intelligent failure. Instead, short-term pressures may make failure seem as something to hide rather than something to learn from and progress.
After receiving a bad grade or not doing as well as one expects to in a class, including in comparison to others, the result may lead to feelings of failure overtaking one’s mind, and can reduce self-confidence.
“Some people think that failure is the final destination and that goes together with a fixed mindset,” Psychology Teacher Arturo Tenacio said. “Instead of embracing failure they will accept it as who they are and what they did.”
Staying with a fixed mindset is harmful as it keeps people in a state of conformity, depriving growth. For example, not doing anything to improve your grades and continuing with the same ineffective study habits, not studying at all or just hoping for the best each time you take a test and winging it, will result in no progress being made.
According to The Decision Lab, the fixed mindset leads to an increase in stress and pressure to perform and subsequently steers people to believe that they know the extent of their intellectual capabilities, when in reality they are limited by not fulfilling their potential. This occurrence prevents the possibility for growth as one fixates on the errors and is unable to move forward.
Failure should not become an impediment for growth or polishing your abilities and skills. Failing in a test or assignment is not a reflection of who people are as whole; failure is what helps us grow and learn from our mistakes. Being aware of your past fallacies makes room for reform and thus improvement.
“It is better to embrace failure instead of fearing it because fearing something is just going to make you feel worse about it, but if you embrace it you can say ‘Oh, that’s ok I can do better next time,’ and actually learn from it,” senior and secretary of the Happiness and Wellbeing Club Sofia Delvalle said.
Furthermore, the growth made from past mistakes may lead to success. Instead of focusing on the thought that the incidents of failure will never be undone, actively persevering to refine those past errors will help to do better the next time.
“You only fail if you don’t learn; failures can teach you a lot of lessons,” Tenacio said.
The fear of failure is understandable; it is a normal reaction among us humans as we always have a preference for success to portray our lives in the best way possible to appeal to others. The embracement of failure and past mistakes leads to growth, ameliorating flaws and subsequent accomplishment in school as students make their way to college or other future endeavors.