Daily Thoughts
6/20/21
Failure Is an Event, Not a Person. All too often, we label ourselves as failures when something that we have attempted to do did not turn out the way we had wanted it to. We are also quick to allow others to label us as failures or to label others as failures under similar circumstances. People are not failures. Their actions may not have worked, but they are not failures. They may not have achieved the highest level that they had desired, but they are not failures. When something doesn’t work, it is feedback. It tells us that there’s another way to do it. If we learn to reframe the concept of failure to look at it from the perspective of feedback, the messages that we will send to our children, our students, our trainees, our subordinates, and ourselves will be those of encouragement rather than denigration. It’s a simple solution, but it will make a significant difference.
From where I sit, I celebrate my actions and the actions of those with whom I work as opportunities to learn. It’s never failure. It’s always feedback.
From Where I Sit with Dr. Mark 