I’ve failed at many things, however one of my favourite failures was in fourth grade when I fell off my bike and banged my nose on some driveway stones. It was one of those nice sunny days in spring, close to summer. My Mom and Dad were chatting with the neighbors whilst my friends and I played on our bikes. Then, I took too sharp of a turn and felt my life flash before my eyes- as any nine year old would. I hit my nose on the rocks and kind of sat on the warm pavement for a second before getting up to see worried parents. I just smiled and laughed as I had a surprisingly high pain tolerance- and I still do to this day, thanks to whatever deity is out there. However, I was still a little shaken and decided I wasn’t going to ride my bike again anytime soon. Almost an entire year went by before I decided to try riding a bike again- yes, I was that stubborn. I probably should’ve tried it again sooner, but now I love to ride my bike and I’m one of the fastest bikers out of my friends and family.
I now realize that trying again after failing is a good thing, and I learned to be more careful after that accident. Even though this may seem like a small and almost childish thing to consider a ‘failure’, it’s grown to become one of my favourites because it has the most prominent ‘glow’ in my mind when I think of failure. I think this is due to a growth mindset, and, sure, I still have a fear of tipping over whenever I get on a bike, but I learned from this mistake and now I’m more cautious.
Usually I have a fixed mindset towards failure and I tend to give up and throw myself into a metaphorical abyss, but lately I’ve been telling myself that ‘I can and will be better next time’, as opposed to ‘I give up’. Hopefully future me has complete growth mindset now, as I’ve learned that it makes me a happier and more productive person.
Our design studio team working on a project that has to do with growth mindset. There were many failures along the way, but in the end we could say it was kind of a success!
Olivia L's Blog 