Wednesday, March 12, 2014

How fast do you fail?

Fun Packery sesh on 4.0 then 4.8 with the custom. It sure was windy:


It was perfect conditions for trying Goiters. I considered trying a few, but didn't. It made me think of an email I got last week titled "How fast do you fail". This is what it said.

A 12-month-old baby knows a lot about failure. Every time she lets go of the coffee table to attempt a step or two – thump! Failed again. Of course the easiest way for our cute little one to avoid failure is to give up on the idea of walking. It would be so much easier to just sit and let Mom bring the bottle.

There are a couple of reasons why that toddler keeps trying. First, the world looks pretty big and exciting and you can cover a lot more ground on two feet than on all fours, so it’s worth the effort. But more importantly, she hasn’t yet got the memo that failure is a bad thing. There’s no shame in falling on your butt when you’re 12 months old. In fact we grown-ups think it’s pretty darn cute.
But by the time we’ve grown up, been formally educated and got a job, they’ve managed to thoroughly convince us that failure is the worst possible option, to be avoided at all costs. And that’s when most growth and learning stops.

When was the last time I tried a grubby? Or a starboard tack vulcan? Or a taka or goiter? I don't actually recall. Maybe I'm too scared of breaking a hip?! I think it's time to start acting like a teenager again!

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