It’s Okay to Fail, But Learn a Way to do so & Reap Benefits

Failure. It conjures memories of getting that shocking “F” or “D” on a math test, not making it to the finish line in a race, losing out on a bid for a home, having an editor critique a story and say rewrite it, never receiving an invite to a party we really wanted to attend or not finding a job after multiple interviews. The list of disappointments continues.

We’ve all gone through failure. One can't get through life without experiencing it. It’s an integral part of the human experience, much like joy, love, pain and sorrow, says Jill Davis, a Madison, Wisconsin, psychotherapist with a private consulting practice assisting pre-med and medical students.

And keep in mind, Davis says, that we are not our failures. “They do not define us.” She cites an example of her work with medical students who are applying to residency programs and are trying to match into very competitive specialties such as dermatology and orthopedics. Davis notes that both require stellar grades and medical board scores. “Some of my students don't have, what I call, ‘on paper,’ the statistics that make it more likely that they will match in their chosen field.” 

She adds, “My mantra to my students is this: ‘Don't confuse who you are with what is on paper.’ By this I mean that my students' identity, worth and potential are not tied to or captured by a random test score (residencies only see the result of one test) or a grade on a rotation through pediatrics. I have so many students who shine in residency and as physicians who did not enter residency looking ‘stellar’on paper.” 

Davis gives a good example, citing the case of a friend who was fired from her job after just two years. She was devastated. As a big sports fan, she hung on to the mantra, says Davis, that, "Coaches get fired all the time”—and “…often go on to greater success with another team.” She did find a new job, says Davis, that is better suited to her skill set and found happiness with inspiring colleagues who did not undermine her. "You never know what to wish for. Getting fired led her to the job she continued in and loved until she retired.” 

It’s also important to focus on happiness rather than drown in failure. In fact, failure can make you more determined to hang on and use better techniques next time. Davis alludes to a piece in the Harvard Gazette, which offers a longitudinal study on happiness, titled, “Good Genes are nice, but joy is better” by Liz Mineo, Harvard staff writer. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/04/over-nearly-80-years-harvard-study-has-been-showing-how-to-live-a-healthy-and-happy-life/. Davis quotes from the conclusion: “’Close relationships, more than money or fame, are what keep people happy throughout their lives...Those ties protect people from life’s discontents [or failures], help to delay mental and physical decline, and are better predictors of long and happy lives."  (April 11, 2017)

Maybe knowing about failure and searching for true happiness is also the reason that Yale University’s most popular course is its Psychology and the Good Life taught by psychologist Laurie Santos. It includes science-backed steps to be happier and less stressed, including social connections. A few years after it was introduced its ratings went down and the teacher took a leave from teaching it.

Does she view that as a failure? We’d love to know. But we also think that her huge success should soften any feeling of failure and help her get back on the proverbial horse. Perhaps, it can even trigger a greater incentive to chart a new adventure or course.