Smells Like Fitness: Failurephobia

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Failurephobia

My oldest and dearest friend is currently working her way through nursing school, and has written an essay as part of a scholarship contest. She was telling me about it the other day, and I thought it was an interesting topic that has implications for all of us as a nation.

The topic is "The Loss of Freedom to Fail," and it made me think about how, in many ways, we're collectively failing at fitness and nutrition. I wonder if the American people have the fortitude to pull ourselves out of a mess of our own making? Or have we been conditioned to think, "Oh, I'm trying. That's good enough, right?"

For some background, here is the video from which her essay response was written:

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And the Blue Ribbon Goes to…Everyone!

“And in first place on the beam, with a 9.25, is Kristi Clarke!” The sport of gymnastics completely shaped my identity and my life. All through my childhood, each weekday evening from five until nine I was in the gym practicing to become a better gymnast, to earn a spot on the National Team, to possibly earn a college scholarship. When I look back on my career as a gymnast, the lessons I learned are as clear as day – particularly the ones derived from failure.

In gymnastics, a slight bobble or a missed grip on the bar often means the difference between standing at the top of the podium and standing on the floor. I quickly learned the value of hard work, mental toughness, and a short memory. If I was to succeed, I couldn’t dwell on my past failures. At the close of my gymnastics career, I was pleased to discover that my sport had adequately prepared me for the real world.

I was very young when I learned the consequences of failure, but it seems today’s children are not given that luxury. Nowadays everyone gets the blue ribbon at Field Day. Everyone gets a trophy for participation. We are sending a mixed message that is bound to confuse and lead astray – after all, isn’t failure an essential part of learning what we are good at? Continual failure sends a clear message to “try something else!”

Thomas Watson, the founder IBM, said, “The formula for success is simple: double your rate of failure.” On the wall at Facebook’s corporate office the slogan “Fail Harder” is painted in huge letters on the wall. Successful people realize the value of learning from failure. Children who are insulated from failure will be paralyzed by the desire for perfection, never learning how to get up after they are knocked down.

I can’t tell you how many times I fell off the beam or crashed to the floor, and I never did get that spot on the National Team. But the lessons I learned from those failures are what make me a successful person today.

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(Since it's already "blast from the past" week here on Smells Like Fitness, here's a picture of Kristi and I in all our 17-year-old glory.)