Failing forward: An Integral Part of Self-Growth

« Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. » - Mahatma Gandhi

We live in a world dominated by the dogma of endless progress - a belief deeply embedded in modernist ideology. It fuels a culture of performance, consumption, and overproduction. In this environment, failure is relatively unwelcome and often stigmatized, as though making mistakes were systematically interpreted as a sign of gross negligence or personal weakness that doesn't align with the standards.

Yet every major human achievement emerges from long cycles of trial, error, revision, and refinement.

I still remember the bitter sting of receiving harsh feedback for a mistake I made during one of my earliest school attempts. I witnessed this same pattern frequently throughout my academic journey and beyond. Over time, these ‘’ex-cathedra’’ attitudes end up causing reluctance in students and ultimately a fear of failure — something many of my classmates experienced as well.

My former teachers may not have known it, but what held me back in class was not the fear of making mistakes; it was the fear of being blamed for them.

Later, when I had the chance to stand on the other side of the classroom as a teacher, I finally understood my students’ psychology and, retrospectively, my academic experience as a child. When students are not encouraged to express themselves freely or make mistakes, they become reluctant and prone to exhibiting self-defeating behaviors, and learned helplessness — all fueled by the fear of failure and negative feedback.

Perfection is an unreachable ideal.

No one is born learned, and Rome wasn't built in a day. Even the most skilled writers and performers make errors.

There is no infallible learner and no flawless human doer.

Growing is not about avoiding or denying failure; it's about accepting it and learning from it. This calls to mind Edison's famous view of his own setbacks:

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

Before inventing the light bulb, Edison reportedly failed thousands of times. Each failure unlocked the next step - brick by brick - until success was reached.

Great minds act likewise when they are failing; they chalk it up to experience and see it as a teachable moment rather than a simple rough patch.

Growth mindsets are focus on a shift in emphasis rather than attempt to change the entire system because they are aware of the fact that, even though they cannot modify the whole picture, they can still strive to do their part, just like the hammingbirth - a symbol of belief in the power of small but meaningful gestures in the Quechuan people's folklore.

They always put a positive spin on their failures or mistakes. Their motto echoes the wisdom:

"I never lose. I either win or learn."

This is consistent with research showing that errors are essential milestones on the path to fulfillment. Every mistake removes a layer of our own weaknesses and is meant to get us closer to success.

Just as every child mispronounces words before speaking clearly and falls repeatedly before learning to walk, every learner must fail and stumble before mastering anything. It's an absolute must dictated by the logic of human evolution.

What is true for the beginning walker is true for the beginning learner.

Making mistakes doesn't mean suffering a defeat; it's a temporary failing or inaccessibility to the desired or expected result before the next attempt that may very well succeed

No experience leads to naught. whether negative or positive. There is always something to learn from every life experience, and failures are an integral part of the human maturation process.

Many people give up not because they are less smart or strong, but because they stop believing in their potential for success and fail to turn the obstacles that stand in their way into stepping stones to success.

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