Fail more

[cjsmith]

Michael Jordan's comments on failure and success: "I've missed more than nine thousand shots in my career...."

wintersweet notes that this concept applies to learning languages. I think that in fact, this is the biggest single thing that makes me "good at" learning languages. I do have a hefty natural aptitude, but that doesn't mean squat if I won't open my mouth and TRY. I fail, I make goofs, I say stupid things, and I keep trying -- and I learn. Over the years, I've found speakers of other languages are overwhelmingly likely to be pleased that I'm trying and to forgive my missteps until I learn more. This has given me a richness of experience that is truly a blessing.

Now if only I'd be willing to go fail at more things.

In what endeavors are you willing to fail?

In what endeavors would you be more successful if you were more willing to fail?

Comments

[meep.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty open to being wrong in everything now. I had the least fear in math initially (having the least trouble with it, similar to you), but I'm pretty open to taking on risk in learning things.

My issue is determining what I want to learn next. I'm trying to decide if I should re-learn Japanese or jump into Biblical Greek (which I've never done before... but I've got a video podcast of a semester's worth of lectures, and I've got the textbook.)

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

This has ringed true for me for the last few years. Until about 5 - 6 years ago, I lived life very much as an Observer. I wanted to learn a lot about the world around me, but I never found myself participating much. For the last few years, though, I've been much more involved in having a life. It's summed up by a slogan I picked up from (unfortunately, in a sense) an ex (but it wasn't coined by her:

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Training for and going on the century bike ride in 2002. Diving into polyamory (which has given plenty of failure opportunities ;-)). Taking the layoff from a fairly comfortable but no longer satisfying job. Starting a photography business (and, case in point, IMHO, failing at it in several ways). And the biggie that gives me something almost every day of which to be scared: Going back to school for a PhD in a field in which I have no previous formal education.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

has ringed

I also seem to fail at conjugating verbs when I'm tired. ;-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ring, rang, rung; sing, sang, sung; ding, dinged, dinged. English makes no sense. :-)

[mama-hogswatch.livejournal.com]

A-bloody-MEN!

I cannot sing because I could not tolerate listening to myself screw up.

I can knit and write and sew and do martial arts and swim because I was willing to tolerate mistakes when doing it.

[nosrednayduj]

Well, of course, programming is like this every day, or at least for me.

javac foo.java
[huge mass of error messages]

Guess I left out a close brace...

At least you don't need to take it personally when the computer tells you you're an idiot ;-)

[evelynne.livejournal.com]

I've been mulling this one for a while. I don't think I mind making mistakes when I'm relatively new at something. It's part of the learning process. I also don't have trouble admitting when I've been wrong about something and I will readily admit when I've screwed up though I really really hate doing it.

What I find more difficult is attempting something challenging when I'm already fairly knowledgeable but I don't feel confident in my knowledge. I'm often too aware of what I don't know rather than feeling confident about what I do know. And yet I can't think of any good examples, though I know it has something to do with work, not my personal life. I'll risk a lot in my personal life but I find it more difficult to do at work, where my performance reflects on the company as well as me (we're consultants). I've been working for the same company for 14 years and I still feel like I hardly know anything. Fortunately I don't have a lot of say in whether I take on an endeavor or not -- I'm just told to do it. But I don't like it. :)

[bendoutdoors.livejournal.com]

Sorry, this is totally off topic but the quickest way to send you an email. :-) Darin and I took my nephews to the Boshears Skyfest yesterday here in Augusta, GA (at Daniel Field -- I'm sure you're familiar with the place :-) ). We saw some incredible acrobatics which made me think of you. What neither of us can understand is how you can put yourself through so many of those maneuvers without throwing up! You clearly have a much hardier constitution than either of us... :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

*laughter* It's all in getting acclimated to it! On my first lesson in a Pitts (the very aerobatic airplane shown in this icon), I got queasy twenty minutes after engine start -- and that included taxiing, runup, and flying to the practice area. :-) By the end of the summer I was doing an hour or hour and a half flight, going out for a big juicy cheeseburger, and then doing another flight. Also, some of the maneuvers aren't as bad as they look. I took my mother up once and ran through the basics, and she was fine. :-)

[airporter.livejournal.com]

As I'm growing older (more mature?) I'm finding I've a lot less difficulty with making any kind of error. I used to obsess and moan over everything I did incorrectly, to the point where I often didn't try at all. I just knew I'd f' it up, so why bother?

Now that much of the negative little bastard is gone from my daily life [I said negative, not sarcastic :)] I find I consider everything I think of trying carefully still, but with an eye to what I'll have whether I succeed or fail. I'm amazed at the freedom I've felt!

Certainly, if I'd held this attitude two decades past, I'd be much further along in my career. At the same time, I think I'd have found a different career path - one involving more people and management, or perhaps psychology. I always chose the surest route to stability for me.

Outside of the career; I'd have skydived, road-raced bicycles, and kissed in public everywhere I could think of!