Failing is never easy. It can be annoying and upsetting. Sometimes the fear of failing can keep us from pushing for our goals or from trying anything new. When we fail, we may feel embarrassed, anxious, or sad.
But did you know that failure is a good thing? Failing at an activity forces us to admit that we have areas we need to improve upon. In this blog, we are going to discuss several ways failure can help you reach your goals.
Failure is Good for Learning
For some, failure can be scary. But [Oxford Learning](https://www.oxfordlearning.com/the-role-of-failure-in-learning/#:~:text=Failure is a part of,%2C and build self-esteem.) notes that for the majority of students, failure helps to develop their learning skills, build self-esteem, and grow their sense of determination.
Failure is a normal part of the learning process as it provides a lesson to the individual. In school, in life, in our careers, setbacks happen. Failure helps us learn consistency and effort and that these skills are more important in the long run.
The will to try something or push for a goal, can increase a person’s confidence, improve learning attitudes, and lead to a healthy sense of self-esteem. Realizing that failure is a part of the learning process is essential to a positive learning attitude, according to HBR.com.
A 2018 study showed that failure leads to better information recall and higher critical thinking levels. When we correct our mistakes and errors, it gives us self-awareness and lets us know what we did right and what we need to work on.
In this study, students were placed in two groups, one group memorized information first and the second group answered questions first. Those placed in the group who answered first outperformed their peers in testing. Research indicates that the students who guessed first reflected on their incorrect answers and were better able to identify the correct answers on the test.
Finding Your Optimal Challenge Level
Failure can also raise our attention levels, which can then be leveraged to increase our learning capacity. According to the [85% Rule](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12552-4#:~:text=We found that the rate,training at a fixed difficulty.), “scientific findings suggest that setting the level of challenge to one where you make errors approximately 15% of the time is ideal for learning.”
There is a sweet spot when it comes to learning where it is not too easy or too hard. When in this sweet spot, learning and training can progress quickly. The optimal sweet spot is just beyond a person’s current ability.
If you are training for a sport, you want to push yourself just past your current abilities. Not so far that you become discouraged and not too easy when you fly through your training.
For example, if your goal is to run faster, you will want to design speed drills where you are pushing your speed slightly faster outside of your comfort zone. Maybe you want to dribble a soccer ball faster? Set up a speed dribbling drill that is a bit more difficult than you are comfortable with. Keep working at this speed until the drill becomes easy, then increase the difficulty.
When struggling with a goal, people who focused on their emotions following the failure put in more effort the next time they tried the activity again. Negative emotions have powerful control over our brains and help guide us toward a more optimal outcome.
Foreshadowing Failure
In Dr. Huberman’s podcast on setting and achieving goals, he draws attention to the concept of foreshadowing failure as the strongest method to conquering your goals. He mentions that studies looked at how people behave when facing a goal and whether or not they focus on the potential for failure.
Society typically likes to focus on all the positives associated with goals and not the negatives. But, scientific literature shows there is a near doubling in the probability of reaching your goals if you routinely focus on the possibility of failure. You should focus on how things will look if you fail as opposed to the visualization of success.
Let’s use a health goal as an example. Maybe you have a goal to run 5 miles every day, 5 times a week, all before 8:00 am. You may sit down and think about how great you will feel and look each week when you accomplish this goal. How your health will improve. This is the visualization goal of the endpoint.
However, this type of visualization is less effective and could be counterproductive compared to thinking about what will happen if you don’t accomplish this goal. Focus on your negative health outcomes and the disappointment you will feel for failing to meet your goal.
Research indicates that foreshadowing failures are more effective in motivating people toward goal pursuits when they think about how bad it will be if they fail. And the more specific you can get on the failure – writing it down, talking about it – the more likely you are to achieve those goals.
This is because your brain and body are wired to move away from fear than toward the things we want. It is an instinct built into our programming.
Steps to Move Forward After Failure
Maybe you pushed yourself, thought about failure, and you still did not reach your goal. How do you move past it?
- First, accept that you did fail. It is okay. You are still here. You are still on this amazing planet and guess what, you can always try again.
- Accept personal responsibility for your failure. This can be hard; we often like to blame others and outside circumstances for our failure. Don’t do that!
- Remind yourself of what you did achieve. Maybe you failed at a health goal, but did you make progress? Write it down and be proud of what you did achieve.
- Make a choice to try again. Do you want to aim for the same goal? Or do you want to trash the goal completely and focus elsewhere? Sit with your emotions for a while and see what your head and heart are telling you. Make seek advice from a mentor on what direction to take.
- Redefine your goals. Create a new vision focused on your goal. Make a game plan of how to accomplish that goal and remember to make plans for if you fail. Do you want to make an A+ on your math test? What steps do you need to make that happen? How many times a week do you need to study? What will happen if you do not obtain that A+? Will you lose your spot on your school sports team? Will you have to take summer school?
Final Thoughts
Failure is an inevitable part of life. It can force us to take a hard look at our inner thoughts and weaknesses. But it can also help us become more creative in our goal pursuits, our determination, and our efforts in life.
When we fail and continue with our quests, we are learning and strengthening our perseverance, determination, and effort. Teachers, coaches, and parents need to focus on the effort and determination the learner puts into their work or practice. This can help them overcome future obstacles.
“Failure is delay, but not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end street.” – William Arthur Ward
Learn More With Blayze!
Blayze professional coaches know what it is like to work hard to achieve their dreams. They help youth athletes identify areas of improvement and develop a realistic plan on how to accomplish goals. Our athletes are learning more than skill development. They are learning life lessons of perseverance, overcoming hurdles, and the responsibility of managing their success.
Blayze coaches are current professional athletes. They know what the best in the world do because they are the best in the world.
Through training or game film analysis, our coaches can hone your gameplay skills. They customize coaching that drives performance where you need it most, in games.
With weekly custom training plans, Blayze coaches give you the individual drills you need to improve the skills you’re working on. These are drills that the pro players do themselves in and out of the season.
Through chat messages + live calls, your coach is there to support you through every moment.
Want to make the JV team but have no clue where to start? Your Blayze coach is there ready to help you set your mini goals that lead up to your main goal and hold you accountable.
Want to get a college scholarship? Your coach can help you with your highlight tape + give you everything you need.
All of this is available through our Blayze program. Tap here to select your dedicated private pro coach at Blayze for one month for just $29!
Through training or game film analysis, our coaches can hone your gameplay skills. They customize coaching that drives performance where you need it most, in games.
With weekly custom training plans, Blayze coaches give you the individual drills you need to improve the skills you’re working on. These are drills that the pro players do themselves in and out of the season.
Through chat messages + live calls, your coach is there to support you through every moment.
All of this is available through our Blayze program. Tap here to select your dedicated private pro coach at Blayze for one month for just $29!