I really related to this piece!! Growing up, my mom would tell me "this is just a glitch, not a catastrophe!". I tried many different things and when it didn't work out, once again, my mom would tell me "if you hadn't tried, you would never have known. Now learn from the mistake and move on." She was my rock, the one I ran to whenever I had fallen on my face. She never judged me for what I had done, instead she used her wisdom to direct me on how to move forward. Because of my mom's strong words, I have tackled my world, lived it and made so very many mistakes. Each time, I learned a little bit more (I believe it is called common sense or wisdom born from life's hard knocks) and I would move forward. Today, at 71, I look back and I have to laugh at some of the colossal blunders I made, but I also look at the really great achievements! Even though I have learned a lot from my failures and accomplishments, the most important thing I know is that your children are going to make their own mistakes even though you could have prevented their epic mishaps! That is as it should be. Thanks, Mr. Reich!
Alas, poor Yorick, where are your . .If I were Hamlet, Failing to Avenge! and agonizing .. Would probably just skip it in favor of going back to Oxford .. .
According to Aristotle, the 6th act of tragedy is comedy. In the last act, rarely produced, Fortinbras, the Norwegian king arrives to take over. Hamlet's father had killed Fortinbras' father, who once had been king of Denmark. Hamlet and Fortinbras are in some way related as Fortinbras is in line to the Danish throne. Hamlet was the heir to the throne but his uncle, Claudius, has managed to usurp him. At the end of the play, both Claudius and Hamlet die and Fortinbras enters to a scene of carnage and claims the throne.
So, from the Norwegian point of view, not a tragedy at all.
The Loneliness Pandemic plus Algorithmic Tracking plus Transcendent Delusion plus Guns .. indeed an effective Mantra Lift needed in addition to practical stay safe carefulness . .
Loved your response. Made me think of my mother who was there whenever I felt really discouraged. Her words were …feel the disappointment but don’t stay there too long. Have confidence because things always change. My dad’s advice would lean towards… well! what are you going to do about it!!! That was the best thing about them… they had me in their mid40s. The last of six 👍🏻. They had learned a thing or two, I think! To my advantage 😉
I miss my mom and pops! They were actually my moral compass. The words your mom and dad said to help you get through the rough patches will stay with you. Funnily enough, I found myself repeating those phrases to my children as they grew up and had to face disappointments!!
Peggy, I made my comment here before I'd read yours. And I am the same age as you and have also made many many errors of judgement, mistakes and have had failures. But I (hopefully) have learned from them ( or most of them ). But my life has had major ups and downs which make - future failures - more likly but hopefullly with much lesser - consequences.
Donald, I can't even imagine Trump in the military. He would have been kicked out a few days into boot camp because he couldn't understand directions and then wouldn't obey them anyway. He could not have overcome his need to be IT, the only one, and everyone else meant to fawn over him as he tried to make them think he was a deity of some sort while actually consumed with doubt and insecurity. Yeah, three days!
Ruth--You give him too much credit. Two days at the most LOL. The military was different back then. Full Metal Jacket, he would have had to confront his major malfunction. No fictitious bone spur would have saved him from that drill Sargent.
Success is the lessons learned from any venture, failure is falling on your face and failing to learn anything from the experience? Life has taught me enough to consider such pronouncements queries, not wisdom.
Thank you, Professor, for the well timed article. I had a pretty spectacular failure today, and I was going through the third phase of being angry with myself. I've gone through some major failures in the past, but this one hit home because it had to do with my integrity. I hope, as you say, I learn from this experience (oh, believe me...I have) and be a better me going forward. It's funny that even at my age, I still have many things to learn and am still trying to be a better person.
I really like "noble experiments". It's such a positive that most take as a negative. Wisdom! My dad always said to me "I don't care how many mistakes you make, as long as you learn something from each one". The best advice I've ever received from anyone. I hope your words hit someones ears as my dad's hit mine. You are so appreciated!
It is a shame that others (family members in particular) point out our failures and compare themselves to us. Shaming is an awful thing. Especially when we have bettered ourselves & improved our own lives — so I would like to point out just how hurtful our own siblings can be — even later in life.
It takes a very unhappy person to do this throughout their lives to their sister.
Thank you for this piece — you are not a failure at all and I admire you greatly.
I agree Anne. At 67yrs I've experienced the same shaming from my eldest sibling and his fishing buddies for my behavior when I was 13. Yes I made many bad choices, had many failures, recovered, became successful, and still have failures and make bad choices. But now I know they are not a death sentence. Now I know I'm allowed to make mistakes and bounce back or not and continue on. Without the help of AA and Al-Anon, I would not be alive today because there I learned I'm loved and my worth is not determined by someone else's opinion. Amen.❤️🙏❤️
I thought about Fred Trump Jr this morning also. I feel sad that he took his own life. And also sad that donald turned out the way he did, from one family, an American tragedy and disaster.
Thank you for this remark! I have (and am) feeling these same family dynamics. So true but so hard to understand. Peace be with you. We are strong and have grown with more wisdom.
No one needs constant criticism, but autonomy is not always what it is cracked up to be. Lamenting time and money lost trying to figure out how to bet horse races, my dad said someone should have kicked him in the ass. As we become mature adults, there is no one around to do that.
I agree wholeheartedly! I am a retired physicist with 50 years of a whole host of experiences. Failure ultimately leads tó many successes as long as you are persistent, the key is believeing in your self!
Like nearly everything in life, it's all about perspective, isn't it? And expectations. As I look back on my life, I become more aware of the truth of the expression, "Careful what you wish for...you might get it." Failures very often lead to success, and closed doors open others. And most of the time, "failures" are the inevitable result of chance and things beyond our control. Being in the fight is what counts the most.
In completion something is accomplished. If you complete your drivers education course & learn to successfully drive - there is no loss.
In competition there can be win & lose scenarios but not all in life is that black and white. Nor should it be.
Life is a series of experiences and how we choose to see it. Its is our individual reaction and how we proceed from each experience that is what counts.
Many situations can lead to win/win solutions. Those are the best! Unfortunately, those kinds of results have as of late been shunned by most Republicans.
I wondered if that might have been the case... my comment was predicated on the fact I was not sure... an erroneous mistake! Apologies for my blunder and assumptions- and it doesn’t hurt me at all to admit it and apologize. Growth for me from our exchanges.
Kerry, you are so right about being in the fight. I have tried to do that all along, sometimes successfully. Very little of what I had planned for my life happened as I expected, but because it did not, I had opportunities to do and be far more than I could ever have imagined. The hardest thing about that is that I needed to step out in some courage when I was not always prepared to be courageous. I have worked with incredible people, worked in incredible places, and was a kind of pioneer in an area of education I could not possibly have known about before I entered the field. I appreciate my failures because they led to my successes (whatever success is) and to a life unlike anything I could ever have predicted. I wish the same for all the young people of this nation and world, which means we had better get moving toward helping them save this planet.
Years ago I read a biography of Madame Curie. One big take-away for me was that she didn't mind how many of your experiments failed. What she really didn't like was if you made careless errors. That concept has stayed on my mind ever since.
Thomas Edison was the same way. Failures are just part of the process of trying to achieve success. Edison: "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration."
Edison came to mind for me as well, Tim. He is known to have said, "I've not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." My great-grandfather (one of the original "Muckers") and his brother as well as my grandfather all worked for Edison. And my family could attest to the fact that the men spent many long hours, sometimes all night long, working passionately on experiments that might have worked or not. Yes, failure was simply part of the process.
But the failure was “Bill” Clinton’s. He happily adopted the greed of the capitalists at Goldman Sachs who wanted to change the distribution of income in their favor
I seem to remember that one of the features of Drumpf's run for the presidency in 2015-16 was that he didn't need the job; he was running only to drain the swamp (for the benefit of the great unwashed). In contrast, Bill Clinton seemed to be someone who craved positive reinforcement. He seemed to be what we used to call a social climber.
Hilarious that trump wants to be president and live in the swamp again...but his DC trial needs to be relocated because DC is filthy and crime ridden..it's so bad he can't get a fair trial there. If he's on trial in the first place...maybe he doesn't belong there.
You are an inspiration, Robert Reich. Your clarity in communicating, your forthrightness, and your humanity shine through. I admire you greatly, and have for years. Thank you for the note. It's fortifying and very helpful. Gratefully, Goyo Max
Thanks for this--it's a great reminder of the value of trying to do something despite one's fear of failing, and I appreciate your frankness. While I've tackled many challenges (and failed many times), my sometimes regrets are about some of the other things that I did not do because of "Fear", fear of failure, fear of disapproval, fear of ridicule. Living a life that gets overly directed by fear is tragic.
Failure is a big part of life. Everyone will make mistakes. But the best people will learn from them and try not to make the same mistakes again. The FPOTUS never learned to be humble and admit mistakes. “It was a perfect phone call to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the phone call to Brad Raffensperger was even more perfect “
I was thinking of 45 as I read Robert’s wise words. Never having had to own up to HIS failures, which are multitudinous. A fateful combination of his background and his narcissism. He may be facing the final blow. Let’s hope!
I really related to this piece!! Growing up, my mom would tell me "this is just a glitch, not a catastrophe!". I tried many different things and when it didn't work out, once again, my mom would tell me "if you hadn't tried, you would never have known. Now learn from the mistake and move on." She was my rock, the one I ran to whenever I had fallen on my face. She never judged me for what I had done, instead she used her wisdom to direct me on how to move forward. Because of my mom's strong words, I have tackled my world, lived it and made so very many mistakes. Each time, I learned a little bit more (I believe it is called common sense or wisdom born from life's hard knocks) and I would move forward. Today, at 71, I look back and I have to laugh at some of the colossal blunders I made, but I also look at the really great achievements! Even though I have learned a lot from my failures and accomplishments, the most important thing I know is that your children are going to make their own mistakes even though you could have prevented their epic mishaps! That is as it should be. Thanks, Mr. Reich!
Line from mine: It's a Comedy not a Tragedy! An Auntie Mame type . .
I am getting better at recognizing moments that will be funny someday, but not just yet.
Alas, poor Yorick, where are your . .If I were Hamlet, Failing to Avenge! and agonizing .. Would probably just skip it in favor of going back to Oxford .. .
Hamlet attended Wittenberg, didn't he?
yeah, the indecisive scatterbrain . .
According to Aristotle, the 6th act of tragedy is comedy. In the last act, rarely produced, Fortinbras, the Norwegian king arrives to take over. Hamlet's father had killed Fortinbras' father, who once had been king of Denmark. Hamlet and Fortinbras are in some way related as Fortinbras is in line to the Danish throne. Hamlet was the heir to the throne but his uncle, Claudius, has managed to usurp him. At the end of the play, both Claudius and Hamlet die and Fortinbras enters to a scene of carnage and claims the throne.
So, from the Norwegian point of view, not a tragedy at all.
Her Own Special . .
It's Over! for the LapTop Kid . .
Fig Leaf removed, a Crime Family UnHid . .
Fully juicily Exposed . .Clear as in
Front of Your Nose . .Mad Marj's passed around
Hunter Nudies have Blown the Lid . . .
#Oversight Probe . ..
Humor can help. Usually.
Sorry, I can't read your post with all the emojis.
Ok I’m officially exhausted.
The Loneliness Pandemic plus Algorithmic Tracking plus Transcendent Delusion plus Guns .. indeed an effective Mantra Lift needed in addition to practical stay safe carefulness . .
And strict avoidance of endless MSNBC repetition ; just dvr their asses until there is actually NEWS
Loved your response. Made me think of my mother who was there whenever I felt really discouraged. Her words were …feel the disappointment but don’t stay there too long. Have confidence because things always change. My dad’s advice would lean towards… well! what are you going to do about it!!! That was the best thing about them… they had me in their mid40s. The last of six 👍🏻. They had learned a thing or two, I think! To my advantage 😉
I miss my mom and pops! They were actually my moral compass. The words your mom and dad said to help you get through the rough patches will stay with you. Funnily enough, I found myself repeating those phrases to my children as they grew up and had to face disappointments!!
Peggy, I made my comment here before I'd read yours. And I am the same age as you and have also made many many errors of judgement, mistakes and have had failures. But I (hopefully) have learned from them ( or most of them ). But my life has had major ups and downs which make - future failures - more likly but hopefullly with much lesser - consequences.
Mr. Reich you just nailed it!
But what’s so bad about falling on your face? At worst, you may break your nose, which is better than trying nothing in order to save face. 🙏❣️
Way of Zen
In the dime stores and bus stations,
People talk of situations
Read books, repeat quotations,
Draw conclusions on the wall.
Some speak of the future,
My love she speaks softly,
She knows there's no success like failure
And that failure's no success at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZzyRcySgK8
Bob Dylan wrote some good things.
Laurie--That man wrote a ton of great stuff. "A hero is someone that understands responsibly comes along with freedom."
Pat--That one sentence explains why Trump didn't go to Vietnam in the 1960s.
Donald, I can't even imagine Trump in the military. He would have been kicked out a few days into boot camp because he couldn't understand directions and then wouldn't obey them anyway. He could not have overcome his need to be IT, the only one, and everyone else meant to fawn over him as he tried to make them think he was a deity of some sort while actually consumed with doubt and insecurity. Yeah, three days!
Ruth--You give him too much credit. Two days at the most LOL. The military was different back then. Full Metal Jacket, he would have had to confront his major malfunction. No fictitious bone spur would have saved him from that drill Sargent.
I don’t want to glorify war, but it takes courage and self sacrifice to be a soldier. Trump has none of that!
Donald Hodgins : 'Are birds free from the chains of the skyway?"
Laurie--They seem to have free access to it.
I don't imagine he would want to be called a hero!
Jennifer--That and he would never qualify.
Some? SO much and more.
Oh ya! One of those lyrics that I directly remember. Thank you.
The wind health, like a hammer the night, bro it’s cold and rainy my love. She’s like some Raven at my window with a broken wing.
Success is the lessons learned from any venture, failure is falling on your face and failing to learn anything from the experience? Life has taught me enough to consider such pronouncements queries, not wisdom.
You are definitely not a failure where it counts.
Thank you, Professor, for the well timed article. I had a pretty spectacular failure today, and I was going through the third phase of being angry with myself. I've gone through some major failures in the past, but this one hit home because it had to do with my integrity. I hope, as you say, I learn from this experience (oh, believe me...I have) and be a better me going forward. It's funny that even at my age, I still have many things to learn and am still trying to be a better person.
72 and still learning.
76 and still learning.
83 and still learning
At one point, I thought failure, like fighting, was something you got out of your system while young. Mucho funny.
86 and still learning
87 and still learning!
I really like "noble experiments". It's such a positive that most take as a negative. Wisdom! My dad always said to me "I don't care how many mistakes you make, as long as you learn something from each one". The best advice I've ever received from anyone. I hope your words hit someones ears as my dad's hit mine. You are so appreciated!
Wise Words, Professor.
It is a shame that others (family members in particular) point out our failures and compare themselves to us. Shaming is an awful thing. Especially when we have bettered ourselves & improved our own lives — so I would like to point out just how hurtful our own siblings can be — even later in life.
It takes a very unhappy person to do this throughout their lives to their sister.
Thank you for this piece — you are not a failure at all and I admire you greatly.
Your friend in MD
🌻🙏💙
I agree Anne. At 67yrs I've experienced the same shaming from my eldest sibling and his fishing buddies for my behavior when I was 13. Yes I made many bad choices, had many failures, recovered, became successful, and still have failures and make bad choices. But now I know they are not a death sentence. Now I know I'm allowed to make mistakes and bounce back or not and continue on. Without the help of AA and Al-Anon, I would not be alive today because there I learned I'm loved and my worth is not determined by someone else's opinion. Amen.❤️🙏❤️
Been thinking lately about Fred Trump, Jr., the brother scorned for simply wanting to have his own life as a pilot.
I thought about Fred Trump Jr this morning also. I feel sad that he took his own life. And also sad that donald turned out the way he did, from one family, an American tragedy and disaster.
Well, Fred's daughter, Mary, seems to have her priorities worked out. Loved her book Too Much and Never Enough.
Thank you for this remark! I have (and am) feeling these same family dynamics. So true but so hard to understand. Peace be with you. We are strong and have grown with more wisdom.
No one needs constant criticism, but autonomy is not always what it is cracked up to be. Lamenting time and money lost trying to figure out how to bet horse races, my dad said someone should have kicked him in the ass. As we become mature adults, there is no one around to do that.
I agree wholeheartedly! I am a retired physicist with 50 years of a whole host of experiences. Failure ultimately leads tó many successes as long as you are persistent, the key is believeing in your self!
Happy accidents?
50 years of experience usually means opportunity met preparedness.
Like nearly everything in life, it's all about perspective, isn't it? And expectations. As I look back on my life, I become more aware of the truth of the expression, "Careful what you wish for...you might get it." Failures very often lead to success, and closed doors open others. And most of the time, "failures" are the inevitable result of chance and things beyond our control. Being in the fight is what counts the most.
In completion, someone has to lose.
In completion something is accomplished. If you complete your drivers education course & learn to successfully drive - there is no loss.
In competition there can be win & lose scenarios but not all in life is that black and white. Nor should it be.
Life is a series of experiences and how we choose to see it. Its is our individual reaction and how we proceed from each experience that is what counts.
I mis spelled competition.
My mistake there Daniel.
Click on the 3 dots. You can edit your comments. Great solution for minir failures!
Oh thank you for that....I didn't know we could edit our comments.
So many don’t. I cannot understand why those who design online programs do not understand that. Why not put the word “edit” instead of 3 dots?
Many situations can lead to win/win solutions. Those are the best! Unfortunately, those kinds of results have as of late been shunned by most Republicans.
Beverly, and how many people we can draw into our adventures and how often we can join in the adventures of others.
The spell check feature on my phone often changes what I type. I must check before I post , or have to return and edit.
Happens with my autocorrupt all the time.
We have all had That wonderful experience.
I wondered if that might have been the case... my comment was predicated on the fact I was not sure... an erroneous mistake! Apologies for my blunder and assumptions- and it doesn’t hurt me at all to admit it and apologize. Growth for me from our exchanges.
This is the perfect column for us to admit such failures haha
Perils of AI...
Always happens when I try to use the word "irruption."
Laurie, now try that correction thing using a screen reader! It's fun and offers a lot of chances for failure.
Kerry, you are so right about being in the fight. I have tried to do that all along, sometimes successfully. Very little of what I had planned for my life happened as I expected, but because it did not, I had opportunities to do and be far more than I could ever have imagined. The hardest thing about that is that I needed to step out in some courage when I was not always prepared to be courageous. I have worked with incredible people, worked in incredible places, and was a kind of pioneer in an area of education I could not possibly have known about before I entered the field. I appreciate my failures because they led to my successes (whatever success is) and to a life unlike anything I could ever have predicted. I wish the same for all the young people of this nation and world, which means we had better get moving toward helping them save this planet.
Years ago I read a biography of Madame Curie. One big take-away for me was that she didn't mind how many of your experiments failed. What she really didn't like was if you made careless errors. That concept has stayed on my mind ever since.
Thomas Edison was the same way. Failures are just part of the process of trying to achieve success. Edison: "Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration."
Edison came to mind for me as well, Tim. He is known to have said, "I've not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." My great-grandfather (one of the original "Muckers") and his brother as well as my grandfather all worked for Edison. And my family could attest to the fact that the men spent many long hours, sometimes all night long, working passionately on experiments that might have worked or not. Yes, failure was simply part of the process.
“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” - Winston Churchill
Wonderful
But the failure was “Bill” Clinton’s. He happily adopted the greed of the capitalists at Goldman Sachs who wanted to change the distribution of income in their favor
I seem to remember that one of the features of Drumpf's run for the presidency in 2015-16 was that he didn't need the job; he was running only to drain the swamp (for the benefit of the great unwashed). In contrast, Bill Clinton seemed to be someone who craved positive reinforcement. He seemed to be what we used to call a social climber.
Hilarious that trump wants to be president and live in the swamp again...but his DC trial needs to be relocated because DC is filthy and crime ridden..it's so bad he can't get a fair trial there. If he's on trial in the first place...maybe he doesn't belong there.
You are an inspiration, Robert Reich. Your clarity in communicating, your forthrightness, and your humanity shine through. I admire you greatly, and have for years. Thank you for the note. It's fortifying and very helpful. Gratefully, Goyo Max
Thanks for this--it's a great reminder of the value of trying to do something despite one's fear of failing, and I appreciate your frankness. While I've tackled many challenges (and failed many times), my sometimes regrets are about some of the other things that I did not do because of "Fear", fear of failure, fear of disapproval, fear of ridicule. Living a life that gets overly directed by fear is tragic.
Same for me
There are so many people who think making lots of money is success, when they really can be a failure with lots of money.
Bouncing back may take as much luck as succeeding in the first place. So good luck to everyone who needs it (including myself).
Failure is a big part of life. Everyone will make mistakes. But the best people will learn from them and try not to make the same mistakes again. The FPOTUS never learned to be humble and admit mistakes. “It was a perfect phone call to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the phone call to Brad Raffensperger was even more perfect “
I always thought perfect was an absolute
I was thinking of 45 as I read Robert’s wise words. Never having had to own up to HIS failures, which are multitudinous. A fateful combination of his background and his narcissism. He may be facing the final blow. Let’s hope!
Keith Olson ; It is ; One can be perfectly dead.
In that sense, death is a perfect condition, a perfection I hope to avoid for considerably longer.