Learning from Failure

1 Let's Go Through the Transcript!

00:00 - 04:52
https://youtu.be/eBz7iUJu9UM

In a 2019 study, over 400 participants were enlisted to learn a mysterious, invented language.
Individuals were asked about three pairs of runes. For example, which of these two characters
represents an animal? Then, after a brief break, they were asked about the same rune pairs,
with questions flipped. As in, which of these two runes represents a non-living object? But this
game had a secret. The subjects' answers in round one determined the rune's meanings in
round two.
In the first round, participants either had all their answers marked as correct, no matter what, or
they were forced to fail every question. This meant that at the break, every participant had the
same amount of information, and in round two, they were playing for real. But despite this even
playing field, the successful participants from round one rose to the top of the ranks, while
those cast as failures kept, well, failing.
People often describe failure as a teachable moment, a necessary stumble on our way to
improvement. But learning from our mistakes isn't always easy, especially when those failures
are demoralizing, overwhelming, or just downright confusing. So what exactly prevents us from
turning our mistakes into mastery?
Perhaps the most obvious hurdle to learning from failure is how painful it can be. People
generally want to think of themselves as capable and competent, and experiencing failure
threatens that self-image. In a survey following a replication of the rune study, participants in
the failure group indicated much lower levels of self-confidence after participating.
It's tempting to dismiss this pain as a temporary setback, but some studies have found that
when people feel demoralized or incompetent, their brains often stop processing new
information. This suggests that if a threat to your self-esteem is large enough, it can
undermine your ability to learn. However, your tolerance for failure also depends on your
relationship with the task at hand.
In a study from 2011, researchers surveyed a group of American students enrolled in
introductory and advanced French courses. These students completed a questionnaire asking
what kind of teacher they preferred—one who emphasized their strengths and successes, or
one who highlighted their mistakes and corrected their weaknesses. In general, responses
showed that while beginner students sought positive reinforcement, advanced students were
more eager for critical feedback.
Researchers have theorized a handful of explanations for these results. Having just started
out, beginners are still determining if they enjoy learning French and if they want to continue
studying, so they might crave praise as a way to stay motivated. On the other hand, the
advanced students are already invested, so they may want to improve their skills as efficiently
as possible.
The process of gaining expertise also comes with its fair share of failure, so the advanced
students may have built a higher tolerance for making mistakes. But whether you're an expert
or a novice, it's usually much more straightforward to learn from your successes than your
failures. For example, imagine getting your grade back on an exam. If you aced it, you could
reasonably assume you made good choices around when, what, and how much to study, and
you can replicate those decisions for the next test.
But if you failed, it could be for any number of reasons. Maybe you didn't study enough. Maybe
you studied the wrong information. Or maybe you did everything right and the test covered
things you shouldn't have been expected to know. In cases like this, it's unclear exactly what
went wrong, making it difficult to learn how to improve.
Wanting to learn from our failures is completely natural, and there's a lot to gain by being
resilient and cultivating a growth mindset. Fixating on your failures can make it easy to forget
all your successes. And building on what you're doing right can be more effective than
focusing on what you did wrong.
One of the ways we can be more constructive with ourselves is by considering how we talk to
ourselves. Self-talk can actually play a major role in performance. Learn the key to doing it
right with this video. Or get actionable, science-based advice on how to build character at
ed.ted.com slash build character.
2 Can You Match These Words to Their Definitions?
1 cultivating a growth a something that challenges one's perception of oneself
mindset
2 comes with b actively looked for encouragement or approval

3 a teachable moment c a situation where everyone has an equal opportunity

4 gaining expertise d to engage in a serious or genuine effort

5 sought positive e to portray someone as unsuccessful or ineffective

reinforcement
6 threat to your self- f a brief obstacle or hindrance
esteem
7 eager for critical g a significant amount of unsuccessful attempts
feedback
8 to play for real h the specific job or assignment currently being worked on

9 levels of self- i experiencing a loss of confidence or feeling inadequate

confidence
10 even playing field j keenly desiring constructive criticism

11 threat to self-image k is accompanied by

12 a temporary setback l to strongly desire admiration or commendation

13 a fair share of m something that undermines one's sense of worth

failure
14 to cast as failures n to weaken or hinder one's capacity to acquire knowledge

15 the task at hand o to reject or disregard something as unimportant

16 to feel demoralized p an opportunity to learn from a particular experience

or incompetent
17 to undermine your q acquiring specialized knowledge or skill
ability to learn
18 to crave praise r varying degrees of belief in one's abilities
 19 to dismiss s developing a mentality focused on learning and
something as improvement

3 Can You Fill in the Blanks?

dismiss, even, reinforcement, comes, feedback, crave, real, threat, setback, growth, teachable,
undermine, cast, master, rewarded, embrace, fair, field, demoralized, struggle
Samantha I don't know if I should even bother trying. I always fail at this game.
David Ah, come on, let's play for _______________(1) and then decide.
Samantha Fine, but you have to promise not to go easy on me just because I'm new to the
game.
David Of course not, that wouldn't be fair. We'll start on an _______________(2) playing
_______________(3).
Samantha (after losing twice) See? I told you, I'm not good at this kind of stuff.
David Samantha, you can't _______________(4) yourself as a failure just because you
lost a couple times. It's just a game.
Samantha Easy for you to say. You're good at everything.
David That's not true. I've had my _______________(5) share of failures too. But every
time I see it as a _______________(6) moment, an opportunity to improve.
Samantha I guess I just feel like such an idiot when I don't get something right away.
David It's normal to feel frustrated or _______________(7) when faced with a task that
seems impossible to _______________(8). But it's important not to
_______________(9) it as a temporary _______________(10).
Samantha Why does failing make me feel so incompetent?
David Because it's a _______________(11) to your self-esteem. When we
_______________(12) with something, it can _______________(13) our belief in our
ability to learn and succeed.
Samantha Yeah, I do _______________(14) praise for doing well. Who doesn't want to be
_______________(15) for their efforts?
 David Absolutely! And gaining expertise _______________(16) with its fair share of
failures. But by cultivating a _______________(17) mindset and seeking positive
_______________(18), we can learn to _______________(19) challenges and
eagerly look for critical _______________(20) to guide us towards improvement.

4 Can You Spot the Target Words in These Sentences?

1 He decided to play for real after years of casual training.

2 In sports, having fair rules provides an even playing field for all teams.

3 It's unfair to cast as failures those who are still learning and improving.

4 Failing the test was a teachable moment that pushed her to study harder.

5 Criticism can be seen as a threat to self-image if taken personally.

6 As you gain experience, your levels of self-confidence will naturally increase.

7 Do not dismiss constructive criticism as negativity; it can be helpful.

8 Failing the project was just a temporary setback in her career.

9 After the rejection letter, he felt demoralized and incompetent in his skills.

10 Receiving harsh feedback from the boss posed a threat to his self-esteem.

11 Comparing yourself to others can undermine your ability to learn effectively.

12 She focused on the task at hand, ignoring any distractions around her.

13 Instead of seeking approval, he actively sought positive reinforcement for improvement.

14 Being eager for critical feedback shows your commitment to personal growth.

15 Some individuals crave praise more than others do due to their upbringing.

16 Through hard work and dedication, she is gaining expertise in her field.

17 Pursuing a career in medicine comes with a fair share of failure before success.

18 Cultivating a growth mindset is essential for overcoming challenges in life.

Correct Answers
2 Correct Answers:
1 s 2 k 3 p 4 q 5 b 6 m 7 j 8 d
9 r 10 c 11 a 12 f 13 g 14 e 15 h 16 i
17 n 18 l 19 o

3 Correct Answers:
1 real 2 even 3 field 4 cast 5 fair 6 teachable
7 demoralized 8 master 9 dismiss 10 setback 11 threat
12 struggle 13 undermine 14 crave 15 rewarded 16 comes
17 growth 18 reinforcement 19 embrace 20 feedback