Celebrating Failure
A Big Fail - Enjoy
Note: I am totally fine from this fall (except my toe still
feels bruised from whacking it on the ground!)
What I learned – If the bar is really far away,
do not try to hang on
Reflection:
Although this failure is a simple, silly wipe out, it does
symbolize the way I react to failure in general. The first thing I said when I
got up was: “can we get a video of that?” which goes along with my tendency to find
humor in my mistakes. I believe when you can laugh about failure, it is easier
bounce back. A good trick for this is to imagine what you will think about your
failure many days, many months, or even many years later. That quickens the humor
finding process.
Perhaps I am a little bit too good at it though… For
example, there was a time I left my ENTIRE binder of notes on a plane right
before exam week. I never got it back and totally cracked up about the
situation. My parents were upset that I found it funny, but I aced my exams
without studying, so it turned out just fine.
Anyway, back to the bars crash. After dusting myself off and
making sure I was alive, I got up and tried again. This time, I made sure to
change my technique, and I did a beautiful jaeger (that is what the skill is
called). One good thing about failure is you can analyze what didn’t work, so
you can avoid that in the future. Plus, there may be some other great learning experience
involved, even if you don’t realize it at first.
Lastly, this class hasn’t really changed my perspective on
failure, and I have always been pretty willing to take risks. However, reading the
book How to Fail at Everything and Still Win Big for my second reading
reflection really drove home the point that failures is at the base of most big
successes. Every failure offers an opportunity for growth!
Here's a video of me not failing...
Here's a video of me not failing...
Hi Leah, your blog post was pretty funny and interesting. I really like the fact you look back on a failure or mistake and try to make the best of it so you can learn like a lesson. Why I like this is because most people look back at their failure and don't learn anything from it and it holds them back rather than help them learn. But overall I really enjoyed reading your blog post.
ReplyDeleteHi Leah!
ReplyDeleteOMG! I'm glad you are ok! My daughter took gymnastics when she was young and she hurt her knee. I truly believe that the sport (art) is beyond anything imaginable. I can understand your humor on saying you learned that the bars are further than you thought. You were brave to share your video. It shows that you are not scared of anything! I wish you the best in your pursuits :)
V/r,
Elizabeth Fullwood
Hi Leah.
ReplyDeleteI have to say... OMG!! You really fell and I am soo glad you are ok because I really felt that fall! Back to your post, I really liked how you entwined what you came from to how you are now. In life, we have those struggles and the not knowing what is next. While you can and have the ability to, keep trying no matter what it is. I can relate to how you feel because I have been through the struggles of juggling multiple tasks at once. In the end, everything pays off! I wish you the best in your future endeavors as you continue on at the University of Florida.
I can really relate to this because I used to do gymnastics when I was younger and really wanted to be in the olympics (wishful thinking I know) but when I was 13 I broke my arm in 2 spots from doing a back handspring and ended up spending 4 hours in surgery getting a metal bar put in my arm to be told I could never tumble again, so I gained a fear and never went back. I really wish I had continued to try even though the doctors told me not to. I'm glad you never let the fear of falling or being hurt stop you!
ReplyDeleteLeah,
ReplyDeleteI want to first say you are amazing at the bars. I loved watching the videos. I can't imagine how much practice and time went into perfecting that routine. Also, I love how you laugh at your mistakes. I agree that sometimes laughing it off makes it easier to bounce back. Furthermore, we can still learn from our mistakes even if we see the humor in it. Overall, I loved reading your post!
Hey Leah! The first video of you doing your routine failing was, I'm sorry to say, hilarious! Your blog was very well written and I can totally relate to your failures, however it is great to see how you face them and overcome them! Also, the video of you successfully doing the routine was an amazing end to the post!
ReplyDeleteLeah,
ReplyDeleteYou used a great anecdote to display your response to failure. I too used an athletics--related scenario. Specifically, I discussed how I made errors all throughout my life while playing baseball (a game notorious for having high failure rates) and had to learn to cope with failure. Unlike you, I did not find mistakes funny in those scenarios, but I definitely think it is a great strategy to laugh at your past mistakes knowing you will progress into the future. Nice work!
Hey Leah,
ReplyDeleteI love your implementation of actual videos of you failing because it make the blogs entertaining and makes you so much more reliable. I find what you failed on similar to my own experiences in soccer and it's truly great to hear and see that you are able to bounce back and learn from your mistakes.