Failure Culture
Brandy Robertson and Sheryl Prouse
Students often face difficulties during their studies such as having to withdraw from a course. Students live complex lives and experience significant pressure from their academic, personal, and, in comes cases, professional lives. In stressful situations, when life doesn’t work out as planned, we often feel like a failure.
We know that failure is universal; everyone experiences failure in some form. What is more important than the actual failure itself is our reaction to failure. Failure makes us resilient and when we address failure from a growth mindset we appreciate and even enjoy challenges because we know by leaving our comfort zones and working through these challenges that we will become better students, better professionals, and better human beings. People who approach failure from a growth mindset see failure as a learning opportunity: we learn new skills and build on the skills we already have. We can be inspired by the success of others and view feedback as constructive rather than as criticism.
Can you think of a time when you felt like a failure? Consider whether you dealt with that situation using a growth mindset.
