No More Mr. Nice Guy by Robert Glover

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Franklin P. Jones:

But I am impressed with Joyce. After the game, and after realizing that he was clearly in the wrong, Joyce sought out Galarraga and apologized. How many times have you ever heard of an umpire apologizing to a player for a bad call? He owned his mistake. He didn’t cower or become defensive but maned up, sought out the person he wrong, and was willing to deal with the consequences of his mistake. “You don’t see an umpire after the game come out and say, `Hey, let me tell you I’m sorry,’” Galarraga said. “He felt really bad.” To be that bold takes courage beyond measure.

I found myself really enjoying that story because of just how tragic it is. When the failure is that massive its almost impossible to look away. Yet, when I fail in public, like I did a few weeks ago, it makes you want to crawl into a hole and never come out.

I keep telling myself that recovery from failure—the ability to get up and try again—is probably THE most important skill anyone can have. Being willing to be seen again, knowing everyone looking at you has seen you at your worst, is necessary to obtain any level of success. It is vulnerable. It is humbling. It feels exposing. And it is essential.

“Instead of praising kids for trying hard, teachers praise them for their innate intelligence, like being smart… This type of encouragement actually backfires since it leads children to view mistakes as signs of stupidity, and not as the building blocks of knowledge. The regrettable outcome is that kids never learn how to learn.”

Failure, if used correctly, will end up being the best tool to train and teach our children.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.