I once read that “failure is the partner of success” and I tried to think back to when I started thinking the two were not interconnected.
It wasn’t when I was little - there was no way I was going to be told, "no" back then. I was always trying to find creative solutions to any obstacles I faced. And isn’t that how we all start out? Our lives begin carefree, brave, curious… a little bit naïve, as only a young child can be. Only to be changed by our life's encounters and experiences, taking that confident little one and slowly chipping away at that confidence. It isn't always done on purpose, off-hand comments we make can leave lasting impressions on their minds that fester as they grow up into adults.
Or sometimes it is. Sometimes, it can be a societal attitude to deliberately put down others when they talk about their success, or achievements, only pointing out their flaws and failures. Commonly referred to in Australia and New Zealand as “cutting down the tall poppy,” it's a serious issue affecting people’s mental health, satisfaction, and retention (learn more about this here). And when society constantly points out our flaws and forces us to accept these false narratives placed upon us, sometimes we can become afraid of success, since striving for success means being exposed to not only criticism but failure as well.
However, failure is one of the greatest teachers of life and always precedes success - you can't have one without the other. I mean, how many motivational and inspirational quotes are out there about failure?!
"Failure is another stepping stone to greatness." ― Oprah Winfrey
"Failure is a part of the process. You just learn to pick yourself back up." ― Michelle Obama
"Children have a lesson adults should learn, to not be ashamed of failing, but to get up and try again. Most of us adults are so afraid, so cautious, so 'safe,' and therefore so shrinking and rigid and afraid that it is why so many humans fail. Most middle-aged adults have resigned themselves to failure." ― Malcolm X
"When we give ourselves permission to fail, we, at the same time, give ourselves permission to excel." ― Eloise Ristad
"It's only when you risk failure that you discover things. When you play it safe, you're not expressing the utmost of your human experience." ― Lupita Nyong'o
"It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure." ― Bill Gates
"Those who dare to fail miserably can achieve greatly." ― John F. Kennedy
I could go on! You get the idea.
But here’s another way of looking at things: not only does failure make you a better person, but it also makes you a better scientist. Failure, at the end of the day, is research. Just like Thomas A. Edison said: “I never once failed at making a light bulb. I just found out 99 ways not to make one.” Yet even with that famous quote, we are still reluctant to air our failures! To combat this, the Journal of Trial and Error came out in 2020, and publishes and discusses non-significant findings, technical and methodological flaws, rejected grant applications, and failed experiments... but many just don't want to bring up those null results or research fails.
Here are two big reasons why we should talk about our failures in science:
A failure encourages us to explore alternative solutions and broaden our perspective on the problem at hand. For example, publishing experimental mistakes can perhaps start the conversation about a system or tool and the common errors it has.
Sharing knowledge - like a dodgy code or technology that isn't worth investing in - can prevent others from making the same mistakes you've made! These kinds of trial-and-error publications provide valuable new knowledge and really help researchers spend more resources finding the best practices that do work.
The only way to encourage people to learn from failure is for leaders to create and reinforce a culture that makes them feel comfortable with learning from mistakes. The faster we fail, the faster we succeed in science!
How do you support failure in your everyday life?