Isn’t it interesting the older we get the more we run from the possibility of failure? Toddlers take what is for them enormous risk as they transition from crawling to walking. The furniture in the house is so large to them. They fall countless times, only to get up again until they’ve learned to put one foot in front of the next. As they grow older they learn to ride their bikes through a series of failure and adjustment. In high school most kids are quick to try out for a sports team, school play, or ensemble knowing they could fail. Failure is a part of life that’s not seen as final.
The older we get the more we fear failure. It’s embarrassing. It’s humiliating. It causes others to question our aptitude. Because we shrink from risk and possible failure we stop achieving and learning. How important it is to remember that failure is our greatest teacher.
I once heard the great one, Rick Warren, say that he encourages his staff to fail at something at least once a week. Failure means they’re trying something new. That means learning is taking place.
The great college basketball coach, John Wooden of the UCLA Bruins, used to tell his players before a game something that at first sounded very strange. He would say to his players, “The team that makes the most mistakes wins.” He didn’t want his players to get out on the floor and get stiff, and self conscious about making a mistake. It would make them rigid. It would prevent them from getting into a rhythm. His advice, “Get out there and do something. Make some mistakes. That will get the momentum flowing your way.”
