I like this thought from the Quotation of the day:
"Knowing how to transform failure into success is more important than knowing how to succeed."
- Ernest Hall
This is a great lesson for children to learn. I'm wonder, how can you teach it? Or how do you know when it has been learned?
I think part of knowing how to transform failure into success is a basic character issue. Individuals will only succeed if they keep going even when things are not going their way. We teach our children perseverance when they lose a game in soccer, or have to rewrite a paper, or when they see us keep on trying.
Another part of being able to transform failure into success is being creative and looking for options. I often try to get my children to think in terms of many options. It is easy to fall into a binary frame of mind. It is easy to think either my first attempt will work, or I will fail. I'm trying to get my daughters to always look for many options, because often the second, or third, or tenth approach they think of will be a great solution.
What else helps children learn to rise above failure, to keep striving until they succeed?
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Technorati tags: success, failure
4 comments:
Another aspect to consider is a proper definition of success. Because even if something fails, like a business startup, that does not mean that it wasn't a success if we realize that to succeed is to do something positively meaningful.
Granted, this can't be used in every case, but it is another part of this puzzle.
~Luke
That is a great point. I like Stephen Covey's comment about how some people are climbing the ladder as fast as they can only to realize it is on the wrong wall.
My DD is a big fan of the Boston Red Sox, so I like to remind her that the team's star slugger, David Ortiz, gets out more than he gets a hit.
Also, there's all the ultimately successful businessmen who experienced bankruptcy at some point- Milton Hershey, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, etc.
Thank you for the comment. You raise a good point. I think I'll have my daughters read a few more biographies. All men and women who accomplish anything have setbacks.
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