No one likes to fail…right?  In most instances, we’ll do just about anything to avoid failing, as it’s one of the most demoralizing feelings a person can experience.  And yet, there are countless examples of failures in our society and history from which we can learn so much; indeed, even our personal failures can be moments of awakening.

To help us understand the power of failure, examine the various cases of failure below.  For each, consider what makes each example a moment of “failure.”   How did those who failed react?  Did anything positive come from the failure?  What lessons can one learn from studying this particular example?

 

Movies

It’s common for movie companies to shell out tens–and sometimes hundreds–of millions of dollars to bankroll movies that they foresee as potential moneymakers.  And we’ve all heard of those box-office blockbusters:  Titanic, Avatar, Terminator…  But what about those big-budget flops?  What causes them to fail, and what can we learn from them?

 

Sports

Much like the blockbusters, we can all think of legendary teams who have created dynasties in their respective sports, such as the Boston Celtics, New York Yankees, and–of course–the Green Bay Packers.  But what about those losing teams?  What do we make of those teams who have historically struggled to win, such as the Detroit Lions football team who went 0-16 in 2009?  What can we learn from a team like that?  Did they learn anything?

 

Education

Schools are certainly under a microscope today, as administrators, politicians, and the public are paying especially close attention to things like graduation rate, attendance, and test scores.  When schools are labeled as “failing,” they’re subject to intense intervention from state and federal government, and they even risk being shut down.  So what does one of those failing schools look like?  How can we determine if it’s experiencing success?

 

Politics

While we know that there is always a winner and loser in any presidential campaign, do you know there are also candidates who have run for office multiple times, only to lose every single one of them?  What do we make of them?  What keeps them coming back?  Can we learn anything from them?