There Are 3 Ways To React To Failure (And One Of Them Guarantees Growth)

Failure: a state of inability to perform a normal function; lack of success; a failing in business; a falling short. (Webster's Dictionary tells us.)

My, how our collective perception of failure has evolved over the last decade! This seismic shift in perception became a part of my consciousness about six years ago, when I attended a panel on the subject. I'd heard about failure, at least in my sphere of work, as a chance to find meaning where there once was none and as a second chance to success. Failure has long been regarded as a learn-the-hard-way teacher, but it is now increasingly seen as invaluable. It's arguably a modern badge of honor. It actually seems…trendy.

I look at failure much more inquisitively now. It's almost impossible not to dwell on their failures just the same, and I've failed enough times now to know it's a feedback loop for each one of us, a scenario to learn from. Apart from the immediate disappointment failure drops on us, it is actually an opportunity to learn. Defining concepts like failure might seem abstract at first, and yet our individual notion of it really shapes our lives.

Scientists have long understood that the brain primarily has two ways of learning. One we call avoidance learning, which is the brain reacting to negative experiences by not repeating the action again. The second is reward-based learning, a positive experience the brain would like to repeat again. An MRI study in 2015 by the University of Southern California found that having the opportunity to learn from failure can turn it into a positive experience—a rewards-based experience, if you will—if the brain is given a chance to assimilate from its mistakes.

This year, Columbia University studied New York City high school students who were taught "about the failures and personal struggles of famous scientists." Studying these failures caused the students to score significantly higher than their peers on STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) tests.