The Success of Failure ― Parabolic waves in perpetuity

R3 Files Podcast ― The Success of Failure

In the previous installment I referenced attribution theory which sheds lights on an individual’s motivation to find causes for everyday events or negative outcomes. It suggests that individuals learn less from their failures and place greater emphasis on their perceived success. This concept has a bearing on the parameters of my underlying premise regarding “The Success Of Failure” whereby individuals are failing badly on a daily basis but despite this, each day is considered to be an overall success.
To explore this argument further, a useful starting point is to examine the concept of failing well by referencing the salient events from the Global Financial crisis of 2007-2008. These historic events provide a perfect example of how executives and top tier management in the banking and financial services industries not only failed well, but failed spectacularly well. I discuss how behemoth financial institutions which were considered “too big to fail” were positively rewarded for their failure, when the United States government intervened to prevent such banks from collapsing, The use of tax payer funds to bail out large financial companies provided a prime example of the ‘failing well’ concept.
Indeed these generational events aim a narrow spotlight on a harsh reality, which argues that the majority of (so called) successful individuals, groups, and organizations fail much more (and more often) than they succeed. This is largely because their overall success derives from the fact that they have perfected a lifetime’s habit of failing well. This analysis is consistent with my earlier premise that failure exists in perpetual waves and should be treated as an ongoing or unavoidable event. Hence the idea of waveforms is a key indicator which dictates a particular version of failure, as either failing well or failing badly.
I then flesh out my main arguments underpinning the fundamental question: “What Is The Success Of Failure?” by introducing an ‘Alternative Perspective.’ To do so, I use commonly reported experiences by individuals affected by mental illness. In particular, how an individual can be failing badly on a daily basis but overall each day is deemed to be a success. I provide examples of failing badly from personal experience which then lead to small victories, or nodes of success.
Overall, this means that failing well and failing badly should not be viewed as binary concepts but instead, perspectives or positions occupied within the nodal continuum. More specifically, they are statements on how we accept or embrace failure, leading to an important conclusion, that failure is the rule rather than the exception. Consequently, I expand on this discussion by providing various perspectives on how failure is to be embraced and also how success is to be achieved.

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