| Because I really do believe that every failure is an opportunity to learn and grow, I want to share this article from Questia.com. It was posted recently at http://tinyurl.com/ydj4xlr. | |
| The information is excellent! Whether you are a mentor or mentee, this will help you to understand what is happening when a person experiences failure. A mentor can provide the support that minimizes the time it takes to bounce back.
According to the Business Week article “How Failure Breeds Success,” “Everyone fears failure. But breakthroughs depend on it.” And while “not all failures are praiseworthy… intelligent failures — those that happen early and inexpensively and that contribute new insights about your customers — should be more than just tolerable. They should be encouraged.” However, even in environments which allow for failure, “some people will take setbacks to heart instead of to mind. Such people let a disappointment seep into their sense of self like a poison,” says Carlin Flora in the Psychology Today article “Embracing the Fear of Failure.” But failure is “not as bad as you may think,” says Marcia A. Reed in the Black Enterprise piece “The Truth about Failure.” In fact, Reed quotes job counselor Seaborn Morgan who says, “If you’re not failing on a regular basis, then you’re probably not doing a whole lot.” Reed summarizes tips for using failure to advantage: First, “Find your purpose and define your goals… in specific, measurable outcomes. Use them as the criteria for assessing progress, as well as success and failure. For example, if you aim to improve your health, use changes in cholesterol, blood pressure or weight to track how far you’ve come toward achieving your goal.” Second, “Know your weaknesses… Conduct a self-assessment and look for areas in which you feel most prone to fail. Then, create an action plan to strengthen yourself and respond positively when you do fail.” Third, “Think of failures as learning … Don’t make excuses for failure; acknowledge and accept it as soon as it occurs.” Analyze it and ask yourself: “What was the mistake? Why did it happen? How could it have been avoided? How can I do better next time?” Fourth, “Rebound and take more risks… Build your tolerance for failure and resilience by forcing yourself to take more risks as soon as possible.” If you have a mentor, allow them to support you on using the four tips in the article. Your mentor can be your sounding board. She can assist you in being accountable. He can cheer you along the way. When you experience a subsequent failure, and you will, your mentor can dust you off and assist you as you get going again. If you are a mentor, you can assist your mentee by asking the kind of reflective questions that guide them away from the emotions of the failure and allow them to think more clearly about what actions they will take in the future if they are confronted by the same or similar circumstances. |
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