Failure: Un-dressed, Ad-dressed

By Jami Scholl | August 9, 2011 | 4:13 pm | Comments (3) |

In my last blog post I listed a number of quotes from Thomas Edison addressing failure.  I want to delve into this topic a bit further by undressing each quotation, giving you my interpretation.

“I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is anotherstep forward.”

This speaks to attempts – perfectionism, perhaps. If we assess Thomas Edison as if he was in a typical American classroom (note: school funding is dependent upon his immediate success/No Child Left Behind funding) he would have flunked many times over. Our society conditions kids to believe that to fail is bad. To get a wrong answer is bad, and that often it is indicative of self-worth. In a kids mind it would work something like this:

bad grade = bad me = I cannot do anything right = I am worthless.

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

This quotation certainly is in line with the earlier quote, but shows point of view defines what failure is and is not. Each attempt was not a failure. Each attempt gave a solution that eliminated possibilities, and which therefore made clearer what a solution would be. This is also an example that there is no predetermined outcome where the teacher has the one right answer. Edison defined his goal and worked methodically to achieve it. He persevered and believed in his dream. He believed in himself and his abilities, learning at each step of the process. Here is a link to a TED talk by Tim Harford which explains when trial and error is the only way to find a solution: http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_harford.html

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

What is the difference between work and play? It is those who pursue their passions then work in their areas of strength in an attitude of  play who are most likely to be successful. I believe work is only unpleasant when we do not believe in what we are doing. Does your job align with your personal moral code or ethics? Is your goal monetary wealth or to have fun making the world a better place in some way? For those folks who can earn a livelihood and “work” or play in a field of interest are likely the most successful and happy people to meet for they have a dream that extends beyond the self.

“Many of life’s failures are men (individuals) who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

In this quotation I broaden it with the term “individuals” in order to include all of our population. In this quotation Edison is stating that a failure is not an attempt for a specified outcome, but people. He states that a Failure is a person who does not recognize how close they were to succeeding in their particular passion and then gave up their dream – they failed. This relates directly to self-worth. This is how most of our children are taught – if something does not work the first time, or perhaps a second time, then they fail. It also teaches that there is someone else defining the “problem” to be solved (aka defining a Goal) and that one person has THE answer, thus giving power of solution to another, abdicating personal responsibility.

I believe we should be defining our goals (not problems) in terms of the greater good, utilizing our unique strengths as gifts, and seeing each attempt as a solution to reaching a self-defined goal. There are many ways to experiment outside of a classroom. Gardening or farming are two ways of many solutions which require innovative thinking.

I once read that a child raised on a farm is one of the most creative individuals there is. Why? They encounter real life situations with natural parameters almost daily. A problem presents itself, a goal is defined. Solution after solution is attempted until one actually works. Motivation? Food, water, shelter – basic needs. If a raccoon gets into the henhouse, then a solution needs to be found that fits the budget as well as supplies which are on hand… or else no eggs, no meats, and no flock for the following year. With no flock there will be a need for more financial and time investment (chicks need to grow to a certain age before laying begins). Whether the flock is for a family’s sustenance, for sale or are pets (and many times it was all three), there is a real loss. A lingering loss.

There are many reasons I’ve a passion for gardens and farms, one of them is that I want my children to learn how to fail, which is really learning how to learn and succeed. They will learn how to define an objective, work toward a goal within real life constraints, learn to make decisions, be able to understand how ecosystems work, know something about self-reliance and the joys of giving. Learning happens all the time.

The photo above illustrates one of my recent life lessons through failure; what have been your best failures?

Comments (3) | | Categories: Food Traditions,Gardens,Homesteading,Permaculture,Uncategorized,Urban Agriculture | Tags: Education, Empowerment, Gardens, Permaculture, Urban Agriculture