It’s frequently said that we shouldn’t fear failure. On my desk is a mat with the words: Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter: Try again. Fail again. Fail better. These are Samuel Beckett’s words[1],and they are often used out of context. He was a bit of a gloomy soul. Curiously, given that Beckett wasn’t in the business of inspiring, these words have become a calling to be positive whatever the barriers.
Maybe what I want to talk about is better captured by a stoic Greek. “We don’t abandon our pursuits because we despair of ever perfecting them[2]”.
Well, some people do. I’ve met numerous skilled and talented people who bulk at trying something new because they have a deep-seated fear of not doing it well. No one is immune from that basic apprehension that can run through our veins when we are faced with challenges or significant obstacles.
That said, some of this reluctance, or cognitive distortion comes from what we experienced in education. The constant rewarding of those at the top of the tree can undermine the confidence of others. Particularly those whose in-built self-confidence is low. Even if they have an abundance of natural talent. There’s a destructive impact of the all or nothing approach.
There’s also the sad factor that this can serve the interests of flawed individuals. To stay on the top of the tree they can find it advantageous to big-up their own achievements and diminish others. Not nice. Trouble is that this is real. Politics has more than its fair share of such individuals.
What I like about the – have a go – approach is that it’s rooted in pragmatism. It means putting aside hang-ups and worries, not to ignore them but to keep them in check. None of us are ever going to be perfect. None of us are robots (yet). None of us are immune from failure.
The best of us will try to make thing better. However little progress that is made it’s better that progress be made. Even if that little progress fails into obscurity. Of course, this pragmatism comes with oceans of potential disappointment along the way. But what is disappointment? It’s only another emotion amongst the massive range of emotions that are human.
In design, development and testing failures will occur. If you hear that something new has been a complete success, it’s probably more public relations than reality. Most failures are a long way from total failure. That’s the same as saying something wasn’t a complete success. That’s human. That’s normal.
[1] https://booksonthewall.com/blog/samuel-beckett-quote-fail-better/
[2] Epictetus.
John Vincent 