So my AP Psychology teacher had a baby earlier this year, so she got a sub to teach us for 2 months while she was out. This was the most amazing substitute ever. Not only did she know what she was talking about, but she had a story for everyone. One day she asked us how many of us thought that it was embarrassing to fail at something and of course, everyone raised their hand. Then she went on to tell us about how there are schools in Japan and China where a child will spend 45 minutes at the board trying to work out a problem and when they get it wrong, the teacher will congratulate him/her. There are no snickering students or teachers who just make you sit down because you can’t get it. They’ll help you through it and make you feel happy when you get it right because they realize that EVERYONE MAKES MISTAKES. It’s human to make mistakes. How are we ever supposed to do something perfect if we don’t screw it up a few times first??
This was the teacher that taught me that failing really wasn’t all for nothing. There’s no saying you didn’t learn anything just because you failed. As long as you tried, you succeeded. You may not have succeeded at what you wanted. I think she said that Benjamin Franklin was once told he was a failure and replied with something along the lines of, “I have not failed, but succeeded at finding the wrong way to do something.”
It’s normal to make mistakes. Don’t let them be the things you’re ashamed of. Let the risks you never took be the things you are ashamed of.
