The Learning of Failure

We’ve all been told that failure is imminent. We’ve been told many examples of fictional or historical characters whose successes were all due to constant failure. Dumbledore almost went the way of the Dark Arts until his ambition caused him to neglect his younger sister, allowing her to die. His past is chock-full of miseries and mistakes and failure. Robert Frost was very much depressed throughout his life and only got his big break when he moved himself and his family to London. And did you know his poetry was so awesome because of his depression and having outlived most of his children? Then again, most poets are like that.

This then brings me to an idea I ran into: never learning to fail. After reading an article on How to Write a Novel in 30 Days (http://www.catherynnemvalente.com/essays/how_to_write_a_novel_in_30_days/), the ingenuity of it struck me. Basically, human behavior consists of doing something until you stop succeeding. If you go through school procrastinating and succeeding, your brain literally never learns to fail. This can probably turn out badly (like Dumbledore sticking with Grindelwald if his sister had survived), but it does have its forthcomings.

As stated in the article, the author mentions how they consistently left college papers for the night before they were due. This is where the average, rational human proceeds to eye roll. Epically.

Unless this turned into an ability to, say, write novellas in merely a month’s time. This person never once failed on a paper, thus never learned that maybe they should not procrastinate on future papers. Take that, time management!

However, in the cases of Dumbledore and Mr. Frost, if they had never learned failure, the world of poetry would have missed out big time and Potterheads would never have come into existence. Had Frost never been thrown into the grip of depression, we would not know about the renowned paths in a yellow wood. If he still became a poet, he perhaps would not be so praised.

Failure really is a delicate thing. It always seems to know just when we need it, and when we don’t. I’d like to think of failure as a hurricane. It needs just the right conditions to have power and make an impact. Sometimes they happen and sometimes they don’t. The aftermath of a hurricane, or failure, is at times devastating. But when we pick up the pieces, we realize that despite tragedy, there is still a sun in the sky, and we have only been brought a step forward in our journey.