More often than not we are bombarded by slogans like “Failure is not an option.” Why isn’t it an option, especially in education? As we grow up, we have this perceived notion that failure is simply not okay. Yet, when we are babies…toddlers even….and we fail at walking for the first time, we don’t think to ourselves, “Ya know what, this walking thing just isn’t for me.” We persevere, we get up and try, try again… and eventually, we make it through. We crawl, then we walk, walking turns into a run, and then we could end up doing marathons!

Perhaps we have this mindset with failure as adults, because when we see failure, it’s typically attached to the negative. Liver failure, power failure, crop failure. According to Merriam-Webster, failure is not only defined as ‘an omission of occurrence or performance, but the state of inability to perform a normal function;’ to fall short at succeeding. What Merriam-Webster “fails” to recognize is that through our mishaps and shortcomings, we learn fundamental skills, develop newfound abilities, and gain knowledge through experience which leads to finer comprehension.  

I’ve learned during my experience as an educator of adult learners, that it was my responsibility to guide these individuals to change their mindset from “fixed” to “growth.” Fixed mindsets prevent learners from evolving their skills and abilities. Recovery after a failure is harder, and at times will halt any future opportunities. Adult learners with a growth mindset don’t necessarily see failure as the end of their journey. These individuals easily bounce back from failure. Failure propels them to problem solve, to try new things, to investigate and continue to learn.

This takes time. Adopting a growth mindset doesn’t happen overnight, especially when we have this old one ingrained in us somehow. I knew I needed to implement small changes everyday to begin reaching for that change. Here are a few simple tricks I practiced when I began building a growth mindset with my adult learners: