Fear of Failure May Guarantee It?

Posted on July 19, 2007 by David Gray

I have on occasion met some individuals who evaluate their learning options principally from a perspective of fear. By that I mean some would-be learners, whether contemplating an online course of study or a continuation or return to a traditional college classroom, will retreat from the opportunity or vigorously avoid the more rigorous learning challenges in store. Why? Because they fear failure.

It's a natural human tendency, of course, to be apprehensive of failure. None of us wants to lose. But blogger Jory Des Jardins notes in this, an excerpt of the last line of her recent post, If you can't…–on occasion–lose, how can you play?

Ms. Des Jardin's long post delves into her view of global cultural differences she perceives in various people and the way in which culture can affect a person's ability or willingness to handle risk. She sees a link between individual success and a person's capacity to combine a wholesome appreciation of the possibile failure in parallel with a decision to press ahead nevertheless. I agree, providing, of course, the risk isn't reckless.

It is especially true, in my opinion, when it comes to challenging oneself with educational choices that can be the most rewarding because they demand we give them the best we have to offer; choices that we know will stretch and hopefully redefine that private assessment of ourselves we all carry around inside. The question, "Am I good enough?" is an important one to ask. Often, though, what separates a success, even if it ends in a temporary setback, is the person who consistently answers that question with, "I am eager to find out. I'm sure to learn something about myself along the way."

This subject may be most poignant among some considering a return to college after an interval of time away. While online students here at UMassOnline, for example, have excelled in their careers and family lives and achieved much, some wonder and worry whether or not they are up to the current challenge. Has college changed? Can they keep pace with the younger generation? Can they really master a more advanced course of study?

Win or lose, if we must be put in those terms, it has been my experience that the best answer to those questions about ourselves are on the faces of people who have accepted the challenge and learned firsthand (and some for the first time) just how much they can achieve. And, whether or not the experience was wholly successful, these students appear to have learned a great deal about the most serious and important subject of all: themselves.

[Photo source/credit.]