Lessons to Learn

I was a junior in high school, and I signed up for chemistry. 


The first day of class I felt really intimidated. I hadn’t taken a lot of science classes, and everyone else seemed way more familiar with the subject than I was.


The teacher’s first lecture was a blur. I didn’t understand the lingo, felt awkward in the lab, and was overwhelmed by the massive periodic table looming on the wall.


I chickened out.


I didn’t need the credit to graduate, and I dropped the class that very first day.


I did not yet understand the secret shared by the world’s greatest winners.


Thomas Watson, former chairman and CEO of IBM, put it this way, “Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure.”


Serena Williams said, “I don’t like to lose… at anything… yet I’ve grown most not from victories, but set backs.”


Watson went on to say, “You are thinking of failure as the enemy to success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure, or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember, that’s where you will find success.”


Are your kids trying something new this year? Taking a risk, exploring a new interest, or tackling a new subject?


Are they nervous about how they are going to do? Fearful of failure, like I was?


Share your own experiences of learning from failure, of stumbling, getting back up, making adjustments, trying again.


Share stories about others’ failures and successes in whatever interests your child right now, science, sports, business, the arts.

 
Take a risk. Challenge yourself to try something new, maybe even a bit daunting, and share what happens.


Here’s to more resilient wins at home and school,

Anne


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