Three Cups of Tea

Greg Mortenson’s greatest successes often come following initial failures. For example, had he not failed to summit K2 and gotten lost on his way down, he would never have stumbled into Korphe and met the children who prompted him to build his first school in Pakistan.

What is an example of growth or success that emerged from failure for you?

I can look back and see times where at first I failed  and later I was able to say that it indeed was for the best.  Since I am doing this  with my grandchildren I decided to focus on my school days. I remembered an experience I had in ninth grade.  I entered the local science fair with a project on “How Matches work”  I had this elaborate model (with my father’s help) of the assembly line in a match factory and a small display discussing what happens when you strike a match.  I eagerly waited for my name to be called among the winner.  It did not happen.  I was devastated, embarrassed, and upset with myself. My defeat stung even more because my brother and sister who were a few grades ahead of me did very well.

Later I remember thinking  “what did I do wrong”.  As it turned out that was the right question to ask.  I realized that my project really didn’t reflect my interest and there was little scientific merit to it.  I became determined to do better the following year.  I entered a project that I enjoyed working on in the field of Biology.  That year I received a first place in Biology.

What I learned about myself was that it was important to look objectively as to why I had failed rather then personalize the loss.  I also realized that it takes time to be able to shift from disappointment and anger to be able to figure out what to do next.