Fear limits creativity and dreams
Many people are so afraid of failure that they fail to try and achieve anything, and often find they are disappointed with life.
As you might guess, I am not one of these people.
It’s not that I have no fear, it’s because of the understanding that you can only truly fail by not trying.
A mistake
is not doing something wrong; It's simply a learning opportunity. If you try to do something differently enough times you will find the best way to succeed eventually.
Trying something the same way and expecting a different outcome? You might be crazy, but hey, that can be fun too.
Trying something the same way and expecting a different outcome? You might be crazy, but hey, that can be fun too.
Most of us
have heard the story of Edison and the 1000 light-bulbs that he had to make
before he made one that worked. He said he found 1000 ways how not to make a light-bulb.
Although painting moonlight dreams didn’t take 1000 layers of paint, it did take several tries to finish. Sometimes these layers made the painting look better, and other times it made it look worse, and I would have to apply another layer to fix it.
Sometimes I made smudges and had to wipe the paint off with a rag, other times I thought I should stop so I don’t wreck the painting "it looks ok but it’s not the way I wanted it". Why expect less from my work? If I quit, I fail myself.
This is just a painting, but most things in life can be corrected, built or repaired. Building a deck, fixing a computer, all these things can be tried over and over again. Sometimes you will mess things up, but if you keep at it you will most likely succeed and learn how to do it right in the process.
Why have I been successful at many different things? It’s not because of being "naturally better" at all these different things; It’s because I refuse to give up and stay in failure.
I try again, and again, and read and study how others did similar things, and keep going until I get it right. Sometimes, this takes a long time and several attempts, other times it goes well and I get it quickly; Every time I succeed is because I try.
Although painting moonlight dreams didn’t take 1000 layers of paint, it did take several tries to finish. Sometimes these layers made the painting look better, and other times it made it look worse, and I would have to apply another layer to fix it.
Sometimes I made smudges and had to wipe the paint off with a rag, other times I thought I should stop so I don’t wreck the painting "it looks ok but it’s not the way I wanted it". Why expect less from my work? If I quit, I fail myself.
This is just a painting, but most things in life can be corrected, built or repaired. Building a deck, fixing a computer, all these things can be tried over and over again. Sometimes you will mess things up, but if you keep at it you will most likely succeed and learn how to do it right in the process.
Why have I been successful at many different things? It’s not because of being "naturally better" at all these different things; It’s because I refuse to give up and stay in failure.
I try again, and again, and read and study how others did similar things, and keep going until I get it right. Sometimes, this takes a long time and several attempts, other times it goes well and I get it quickly; Every time I succeed is because I try.
My students would often get stuck and tell me
"I was there to tell them how to do things" and I would always reply that I was
there to get (and let) them to make mistakes. The more the better, because it is through
these mistakes that they learned.
I believe a teachers job is to introduce a safe way for students to make mistakes and encourage them to find a solution to these mistakes. After all, that's one of the most important skills in life, let alone the classroom.
I believe a teachers job is to introduce a safe way for students to make mistakes and encourage them to find a solution to these mistakes. After all, that's one of the most important skills in life, let alone the classroom.
No comments:
Post a Comment