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Failure is a Knowledgeable but Harsh Teacher
Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen is currently the leader of the 2,200 mile Tour de France. Rasmussen is an excellent cyclist, but is known by many cycling fans for his humiliating individual time trial two years ago. Coming into the day poised to take 3rd place in the Tour, Rasmussen crashed several times, changed his bike twice, changed his wheel twice, and as a result of his crashes finished the day with his bare bottom hanging out of his bike shorts. As a result of that one day’s performance, he failed to finish “on the podium” in Paris with Lance Armstrong and the other top finishers.
After that performance, Rasmussen had to make a decision. Would the humiliation of such a performance be the end of his career or the beginning of it? If he allowed his terrible performance to define him, he would never regain the mental edge required to be a champion. But if he learned from the experience and moved on from it, that bad day would make him a stronger racer. He had to decide if his failure would define him or develop him. From his performance this year so far, it seems to have developed him.
Performance Principle: Failure is a knowledgeable but harsh teacher. It makes us plunge the depths of who we are. It causes us to face our weakness as well as our strengths. It seasons us and strengthens us. But it also whispers condemnations in our ear and tempts us to believe that our failed actions show that we are failures. The trick is to learn from failure while rejecting the self-condemnation that wants to accompany it.
Questions to Consider:
- What is a recent failure that you have experienced?
- What has that it taught you?
- Are you learning the lessons failure can teach but refusing to view yourself as a failure? If so, you are on the road to being a champion.
