I’ve been trying to find an old story that I heard years ago on NPR, but haven’t been able to. I even resorted to Chat GPT (as I have heard it’s good at identifying vaguely recalled books and movies), but apparently while AI will scrape copyrighted fiction without the author’s knowledge and consent, it can’t help with NPR:
I’m sorry, but I don’t have access to specific NPR stories or their archives. Additionally, my knowledge is based on information available up until September 2021, and I don’t have access to the internet to browse for recent articles or stories.
But here goes my general memory of it (showing that my failure to find it is ironic):
Before the days of calculators and computers, there was a large number that was theorized to be prime. At a mathematics conference, one of the speakers walked up to a blackboard at the front of the room and, without saying anything, wrote out this number. And then wrote a number below it. And then began to divide the top by the bottom number.
Everyone knew what he was going for. His silent work was dramatic and exciting (for the audience of mathematicians). Audience members worked along with him on their own paper, checking his work as he went. When he was done and had a whole number product of the equation, thus proving that the number was not a prime, he got a standing ovation.
The storyteller went on to say the presenter was asked afterwards how long it had taken to figure it out. He said that he had worked on it every Sunday for three years (I think – I can’t clearly remember) and thus for well over a hundred Sundays, basically he had done nothing but fail to prove what he was trying to prove.
The moral of the story was that failure is an integral part of discovery.
Similarly, I recall the words of a tennis coach I worked with: you can be a good tennis player without making any mistakes, but you can’t be a great one.
To quote Natasha Bedingfield,
Sometimes my tries are outside the linesWe’ve been conditioned to not make mistakesBut I can’t live that way.
I tell my students this sort of thing all the time. Making mistakes is part of discovering, part of creating, part of growing. Resilience, of course, has to go hand in hand with this. When I say I’m pro-failure, I’m not suggesting stopping in the morass of failure. Rather I am encouraging the intellectual courage to take chances, get things wrong, and learn from them.
So the post “Failing at Art, or The Art of Failing” by Therese Anne Fowler over at Writer Unboxed caught my eye. I recommend the whole post, but two bits I want to share here. First a little “sidetrack” (as she called it) that Fowler shared:
Back in spring, 2005, I was in my final semester of NC State’s creative writing MFA program. I took a novel-writing workshop in which several spots were also made available to non-degree-seeking students. One of those spots was filled by a woman named Sharon Kurtzman. Like me, she was an aspiring novelist. Unlike me, she wouldn’t have as easy a time getting her foot in the door. To cut straight to the chase: over the next 18 years, she would complete six novels and endure scores of agent rejections for several of those; then, after gaining an agent, endure a dozen or more editor/publisher rejections; she would lose two agents in that lengthy process; then she’d gain a third agent and, as of early this year, celebrate the sale of her debut novel to none other than Pam Dorman of Pamela Dorman Books. A person might be tempted to say Sharon spent 18 years failing. She says she spent 18 years learning.
That was a tangent to Fowler’s own story about going from a failed novel to her best-selling Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald. Her path included ignoring advice given to her and taking risks. And Fowler says,
At the time, I didn’t know whether I was saving my career or killing it. What I did know was that I’d recovered my joy in the act of creating, and because of that, I regained my optimism that somehow it would work out for the better. It did.
That really touched me. Frank Herbert would say, “Fear is the mind-killer” but fear is also the joy-killer. Hemming in your creativity in an attempt not to fail, sticking to familiar, safe paths to avoid potential pitfalls of the unknown – these will kill your joy. Your focus will always be on limitations, on what could go wrong. Avoiding the small pains of getting things wrong will cause to you miss out on the greater joys that could await you on the path not yet trodden. When Fowler refused to let her previous failure hem her in, she “recovered [her] joy in the act of creating.”
In a similar vein of all this, I’m now thinking of one time when I was describing an assessment to my students. I said the essay prompt would be of the sort they tended to dislike because there was no clear, right answer. Rather, they’ be assessed on how well they argued their point and how well they grounded that answer in the text. One student asked, “If you know we dislike it, why do you give us such questions?” I said, “Because growth doesn’t come in your comfort zone. Growth comes when you stretch yourself.” The stretch zone moves you beyond comfort but not into an unproductive, deer-in-the headlights, anxiety-filled situation. There’s a nice discussion of it here on this “forest bathing therapy” site. As that say sites, working in your stretch zone also builds your confidence and self-efficacy:
Self-efficacy is a kind of self-belief that usually refers to the confidence that you have in your ability to achieve things.
So when I recommend you take chances, I’m talking reasonable risk – putting yourself in your stretch zone, not just jumping off a cliff -unless it’s merited; and now I’m thinking about that wonderful cartoon from xkcd about bridge-jumping:
So go ahead and fail. And then pick yourself up, examine what went wrong – and what went right – and try again. The same forest bathing post suggests 7 Steps for Stepping out of your comfort zone, which I will end with:
7 Tips for Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone
If you are ready to try stepping further outside of your Comfort Zone and into your Stretch Zone, here are some tips to help you get started:
Start Small
Begin with small challenges that push you just slightly out of your Comfort Zone. For example, if you are afraid of public speaking, start by speaking in front of a small group of friends or colleagues before moving on to larger audiences.Set Goals
Identify specific goals you want to achieve and create a plan to achieve them. Write them down and track your progress. This will help you stay motivated and focused.Take Calculated Risks
Taking risks is essential for growth, but it’s important to do so in a calculated way. Evaluate the potential risks and benefits before taking action.Embrace Failure
Failure is a natural part of growth and learning. Don’t be afraid to fail or make mistakes. Instead, use them as opportunities to learn and improve.Surround Yourself with Supportive People
Seek out people who encourage and support your growth. Avoid negative people who discourage you or hold you back.Practice Self-Compassion
Stepping out of your comfort zone can be challenging and uncomfortable. Be kind to yourself and practice self-compassion. Treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would offer a friend.Celebrate Your Successes
When you achieve a goal or overcome a challenge, take time to celebrate your success. This will help you stay motivated and confident as you continue to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.Remember, stepping outside of your Comfort Zone is a process that takes time and practice. Be patient with yourself and don’t give up. With persistence and determination, you can expand your Comfort Zone, achieve your goals, and experience personal growth and development.
Ramblings 