I can imagine that will be a great story to tell on your birthday years into the future, but as someone who went whale watching on a kayak trip not expecting really to see any whales, and then seeing them way, way closer than I wanted (like swimming and jumping through our kayak group who all drifted apart and dropped our cameras), I can say that sometimes seeing them is also memorable (that was 34 years ago and it's imprinted in my brain) but we all "failed" to take a picture (proof) so failure is still a part of that story. For real "fail" moments with a silver lining, well, as a writer I have had short stories rejected by certain publications and picked up by others, sometimes finding a way better market the second, third, or tenth time around.
I had a similar rejection that lead to a bigger opportunity. The department at Duke I'd originally applied to teach in (the writing program) rejected me, but my current department (entrepreneurship) saw me as a result, and wanted to hire me. It's been a much better fit ❤️
It's absolutely true that we can't evaluate something accurately in the moment. We need to allow time for reflection and understand that whatever happened is part of the larger picture.
Also, the things we remember most are usually the unexpected ones, which catch us off guard and require our brain to process what happened. Another reason to look at failure in a new light.
It is all in the mindset; finding the silver lining, practicing gratitude and appreciating what you do have instead of what you don’t. A valuable lesson that I keep working to instill in my students and my own children and now grandchildren.
I can imagine that will be a great story to tell on your birthday years into the future, but as someone who went whale watching on a kayak trip not expecting really to see any whales, and then seeing them way, way closer than I wanted (like swimming and jumping through our kayak group who all drifted apart and dropped our cameras), I can say that sometimes seeing them is also memorable (that was 34 years ago and it's imprinted in my brain) but we all "failed" to take a picture (proof) so failure is still a part of that story. For real "fail" moments with a silver lining, well, as a writer I have had short stories rejected by certain publications and picked up by others, sometimes finding a way better market the second, third, or tenth time around.
I had a similar rejection that lead to a bigger opportunity. The department at Duke I'd originally applied to teach in (the writing program) rejected me, but my current department (entrepreneurship) saw me as a result, and wanted to hire me. It's been a much better fit ❤️
When things go wrong, I try to tell myself, "this will make a good story in the future." It's amazing how time changes our perspective on a setback.
That's crazy, I'm actually in Iceland this week!
It's absolutely true that we can't evaluate something accurately in the moment. We need to allow time for reflection and understand that whatever happened is part of the larger picture.
Also, the things we remember most are usually the unexpected ones, which catch us off guard and require our brain to process what happened. Another reason to look at failure in a new light.
It is all in the mindset; finding the silver lining, practicing gratitude and appreciating what you do have instead of what you don’t. A valuable lesson that I keep working to instill in my students and my own children and now grandchildren.
This episode just reordered my thinking around a project I am neck-deep in. THANK YOU!