Why Are We Afraid To Fail? How failures, especially in college, are necessary to grow.
By Noelle George
Edited by Anna Kate Mereness
Failure is something that is easy to fear. Failing at something can lead to feelings of shame, embarrassment and doubt. Many of us have been conditioned to accept only the best: getting good grades in school, succeeding in extracurriculars, and achieving the next milestone. According to the National Library of Medicine, “The fear of failure can be interpreted as the cognitive interpretation that students will not be able to achieve their desired goals in the future when they face their career events,” meaning we associate failure now with a failure to succeed in the future. However, how we feel about failure is just that–a feeling.
As a college student, I’ve fallen victim to the fear of failure many times. However, during my time at Miami my mindset regarding failure has shifted significantly. College and young adulthood is one of the best times to learn and fail. There are so many opportunities you can explore, and so many support systems to help you learn along the way. Instead of being afraid of a bad outcome, embrace failure as a learning opportunity. Take note of what went wrong, what you can do better next time, and who you could turn to for advice.
One of the most impactful ways to understand how failure can be something positive is to imagine how excited you would be each time you failed if you knew whatever goal you were working towards was 100 failures away. For example, if a goal you were working towards was landing a job in a specific field and knew that your 101st application would be your dream job, imagine how excited you would be with each rejection knowing that your dream job was waiting on the other side. Every time you fail, you gain experience. You have the opportunity to hear feedback and improve for the next time.
Another way I found helpful to visualize failure is weightlifting. It’s well known that in order to grow to your fullest potential in the gym, you need to train until you fail. This same concept applies to any other area of your life as well. You learn and grow more when you fail.
Dare to fail. Embrace the discomfort. Nobody is expecting you to be perfect or get it right every time. Understand that each time you fail, instead of bringing you farther away from your goal, it’s an opportunity to grow closer to it.
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