"Fail Better" is an event taking place in The Science Gallery until 27th April 2014, which aims to open up conversations about failure and it's role in stimulating creativity. Sonia O'Sullivan was a guest at Runner Up : The Psychology of failing better in sport (discussion begins at 8.50 minutes) last week exploring, with Dr Ian Robertson and Ray D'Arcy, the experience of failing as a top athlete - subsequently discussed on Newstalk's Off the Ball. Sonia speaks so openly and honestly about her learning and the importance of accepting her failure to enable her to move on. There are so many gems on offer - for me it's practicing ACCEPTING the failure. Have a listen and hear what resonates for you ?The title of the event really caught my attention - what a wonderful title ? Having listened to Sonia and attending the event really got me thinking about failure,
how I view it, how I deal with it personally, to what extent I discuss failure, how I support others when they experience failure, what I learn from it and much more. The ability to bounce back from adversity or failure can have a significant impact on success, so equipping oneself with the skills to deal productively with change can make a difference between quitting or pushing forward.
William Bridges, who advises individuals and organisations on how to deal with change, reminds us that when we encounter change we experience an inner process of transition, which takes time and patience, as we let go of the old way, reorient ourselves to the new way and eventually become acclimatised and comfortable with the new way.
Awareness of this transition process that we go through when a "curved ball" or adversity or change crosses our path can reduce the level of pain and disruption that we experience.
Daily living offers many change opportunities where we would benefit from being aware of the normality of working through this transition. For example, the end of holidays, a new job role, a new team member, learning a new skill, redundancy, children starting school, moving to secondary school (transition for both child and parents), sporting injuries, retirement - the list is endless. John Kotter's "Our Iceberg is Melting : Changing and Succeeding under any Conditions" illustrates this in a wonderful read.
Top three tips for negotiating transitions which I've taken from recent deliberations on failure :
1. Letting go
2. Adapting
3. Getting on with it !!
and recognising that it's in the practice that the learning happens - a life skill !!