Growing through Failure - and How

"Failing is just a part of the journey and a step toward figuring things out," writes Mike Maddock, a blog contributor at Forbes. "Do you fear failure or have you made it a part of your everyday practice?"

History documents well case after case of individuals that have failed at something - often repeatedly - before achieving success. Common examples range for Michael Jordan to Steve Jobs to the Wright brothers. In the lingo of human development and innovation, they have "failed forward."

The key tenets of failing forward include: 1) the courage to take risks in the first place that may well lead to failure; 2) the maturity to not let failure beat you down; 3) the wisdom to honestly assess your failures in order to learn from them; and 4) the strength to persist with dogged determination until you reach your success.

Mason Jennings sings, "How long you are down depends on how you rise." The psychologist Carol Dweck encourages us to adapt a "growth mindset." The philosopher Hegel wrote that history moved forward through a dialectic of thesis, antithesis and synthesis.

I can tell you a personal story about the day that I knelt hunched over, sweaty and exhausted, atop a garbage dump (literally). I was in North Dakota at a city park (that was built over said dump as a reclamation project), having just failed miserably at the regional championship of cross-country running. I was a junior in college. According to the script, I eventually picked myself up, dusted myself off, and diligently went to the hard work required to take my running to the next level. A year later, I triumphantly ran the best race of my life.

So yes, consider deeply the tenets of failing forward, and incorporate this growth mindset to your academic and professional career. Put yourself out there; pick yourself up and learn from your failures; never stop until you reach your success.

And How
The narrative of failing forward can be seductive. You fail; you make a heroic comeback; you succeed. It is the American Dream. It is Hollywood. It can be deceptive.

So let me add this: how you fail, and how you learn from it matters. Because failure in itself does not always lead to success. And failure is not necessarily a good thing all the time. So allow me to add three qualifiers to the tenets of failing forward.

1. Not all failure is equal. Failing a History class despite long hours studying and tutoring provides a noble learning experience with a chance of future success. Failing a History class because you were too lazy to study and too unmotivated to attend class is not noble and should not be celebrated.

2. Quitting is not always a bad thing. Let's be real: if you put forth a strong effort yet fail College Algebra three semesters in a row, it might be best to quit your dream of being an Engineer. Sometimes the lessons of failure can be hard to hear.

3. Pursue your strengths. You may not fail as much at a task that aligns with your talents and passions. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

Now, with those caveats noted, go out and push your limits! You very well may fail. Learn from it and grow!