Talking About Failure

It’s important to talk about failure, but sometimes this can be hard. How do you broach the subject in the first place – let yourself be vulnerable and potentially be let down? How do you make sure the other person knows what you want from the conversation?

The New York Times has a great article on how to talk and think about failure in a way that’s beneficial for growth – how to talk about failure right. Check out the article here!

Sometimes though, when thinking about failure, it’s even more important to listen and see what others around you have to say. A project from a few years ago looks at exactly this. This project encourages academics and others to make a ‘CV of failure’; a CV which appreciates your achievements through the lens that you worked hard to get there and experienced rejection on the way.

For a good example of this CV of Failure project, check out this entry.

For more information on this style of CV, check out this Guardian article about the ‘anti-resumé’. The blog post linked in the article is a fascinating examination of how even someone who would be considered ‘successful’ only has a success rate of 3%!

Another good resource we’ve linked on this site, is the TED talks playlist ‘The benefits of failure’. This features a number of well-known people talking about how failure paved the way to where they are today. Check out that playlist here.

And finally, just remember that talking about failure is healthy. Don’t let failure take up free real-estate in your head when you have the option to let it out and talk it through with co-workers, friends, mentors, tutors, and family – chances are, the people you speak to will have experienced something very similar, and might have some good advice for next time!