Failing Well

Failure is top of mind for me this week for two reasons. 

The first one is that Amy Edmondson's new book, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well came out this week, and I've had the chance to listen to her on a podcast and see her speak on a webinar with Josh Bersin.  I'm looking forward to reading through her insights over the coming weeks.

The second reason is because I decided it was time to be brave and go back out on a golf course this past weekend.  I chose not to learn to play golf when I was young, the golf course was a walk from our house, and my parents would pay for lessons.  Instead, I waited until my late 20s when I bought clubs, took a few lessons, played a few times and then stopped playing.  So…as you would expect, I was never really good at it.

Fast forward to Monday.  I agreed to go out and play 9 holes on a par 3 course…a pretty safe start back.  I knew intellectually that I shouldn't expect much from my game…since I was never good to begin with and there was a 20+ year gap since the last time I played.  But, I did hope that I would surprise and amaze myself.  As you would expect, my game left a lot to be desired.  A few decent putts, but not much else to celebrate. 

Except…I celebrated going out there and leaving my comfort zone.  My game was a bit of a failure though I did finish, I didn't hit anyone, I didn't lose any balls, and would go back again.

Maybe it's time to rethink what we call a failure vs. a win.

What if it's only a failure if we don't try?  What if it's only a failure if we don’t learn something from the experience?

What have you been resisting trying because you're afraid of failing?

Make today that you take that step forward and take the risk.  Failing is ok…it's how we learn.