7A: Failure is a part of life

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Failure is a hard topic to talk about with most people. As we read last week, nobody likes to talk about their failures, and discuss what they could have done better or to not have failed. They are embarrassed about telling their mistakes. However, in today's day and age people are expected to fail in their life because we are humans and everyone makes mistakes. I think that kids are allowed to fail, because then they learn from their mistakes. Once you do something wrong, and see what you need to do in order to correct it, you know not to make that mistake again.

However, people are definitely pressured not to fail, because a lot of people think that people need to be perfect. For example, some students are pressured by their parents to get good grades, and if they do not, they get straight A's, they get consequences. Then, if that student does fail, he/she will feel as if they did something wrong. That should not be the case. Yes, it is a horrible experience to fail at something, but it doesn't necessarily mean you should give up. Kids are not usually encouraged to fail, although some people/parents may tell their children "As long as you're trying, it doesn't matter". I know my mom says that to me sometimes, so she's not necessarily telling me to fail, but to try my hardest. So telling somebody this means that it's okay to fail, but as long as you're trying your hardest.

In this weeks reading "The Myth of Practice Makes Perfect", it discusses how you need deliberate practice in order to successfully accomplish something. Deliberate practice, being that you it requires effort that is not essentially enjoyable. The article states, "Having given us fair warning, he reveals the secret of deliberate practice: relentlessly focusing on our weaknesses and inventing new ways to root them out." (http://ideas.time.com/2012/01/25/the-myth-of-practice-makes-perfect/) Deliberate practice relates to failure because as I mentioned above, some people are told to "try your hardest". If you are using deliberate practice, then you are trying your hardest and will be able to better yourself.

In the other reading, "The Fringe Benefits of Failure", JK Rowling said, "The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive." (http://harvardmagazine.com/2008/06/the-fringe-benefits-failure-the-importance-imagination). The role that failure plays in peoples lives is an important one. As JK Rowling stated, failure is inevitable, if you do not fail in your life, then you simply fail by default, because everyone at one point has to fail. No matter what age you are, and what you fail at during your life, it is always a learning experience, so failure is not always at bad thing. You can easily learn from your failures to make them a positive thing and so you may not make the same mistakes in the future. Overall, having failure in your life is something that everyone needs and without it, you may not learn some important things about yourself, or succeed at anything else.

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