Practicing Courage #21: Learning to fail better

To fail is human.

It’s built into our experience from childhood.

We begin to walk and we fall.

We begin a project, we work toward a goal, or we start a business and we may fail.

We experience these moments -

• When we are engaged in learning, 
• When we are moving toward something we care about 

And we come up short.

And in these moments there is an opportunity for practice -

Learning to relate to these moments from a place curiosity, care, and compassion (vs. criticism, blame, and judgment).

In my recent conversation with Amy Edmondson we dove into the topic of failure and explored this opportunity under the backdrop of larger questions:

How do we stay open to learning in the face of failure?

How do we stay open in the moments where we come up short?

Today’s practice offers some options for opening that build upon the conversation with Amy and the insights that came out of it, including:

An invitation to slow down

To breathe deeply

And to make an intentional shift to curiosity, awareness, and compassion.

When you do, it may just open up more opportunities for learning, growth, and getting better next time.

If you want to dive deeper into this topic I would encourage you to check out the interview with Amy Edmondson (if you haven't already):

• Meeting Failure with Curiosity and Compassion | Dr. Amy Edmondson

Or  pick up a copy of her book: Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well

Thank you for your practice.

I look forward to continuing together next Thursday!

-Joshua

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