If I Don't Try, I Won't Fail

Last night, I had a very good conversation with a secondary level teacher and coach.  I love it when he stops by, because our conversations are always philosophical and engaging.  We frequently discuss sports and their connection to school and life.  I find this teacher/coach to be very passionate and connected to not only his students, but also their futures.  Yesterday,  our conversation eventually steered towards speculation as to why some people (students, children, and teachers) find it easy to walk away from challenge.  We settled on seven short, but very scary words: "If I don't try, I won't fail."

While stunning as this might be, there is a sense of comfort some students find with this statement.  Whether competing for a starting spot on the team, integrating technology in the classroom, working hard to earn an A+ in Biology, or decoding words in an elementary reading intervention group, students and teachers often find themselves at a crossroads.  Do they persevere, ask questions, seek help, or do they quit, shut down, drop out of school?  For some, fear of failure is debilitating.  So, giving up means he/she doesn't have to deal with insecurities or embarrassment. 

How do we respond to this?  Or, more importantly, how do we plan ahead to prevent this possibility from becoming a reality?  These are "million dollar questions" and I will remain broke, as I do not have the answers.  Rather than providing canned responses to answer these questions, I want to pose more questions for reflection.

In our practice as a teacher, coach, administrator, or parent, how do we talk about challenges?  Do we invite them as a chance to learn something new?  Do we discuss the endorphin rush we experience when we've accomplished something we've set goals for?  Do we set goals and talk about them with our students/children/colleagues?  

As stated before, I don't have the answers, just questions.  However, these questions have me motivated to be more active with regards to challenge.  As leaders, we can easily share stories of celebrities overcoming obstacles to find greatness, such as Michael Jordan being cut from his high school basketball team, the Wright Brothers and their efforts to fly, or Henry Ford and the Model T (models A-S weren't all that impressive).  However, the real power in helping our students, children, and teachers make connections to avoid the plague of quitting lies in our own actions.  It goes beyond the actions of doing.  It must be a dialogue we seek with others.  We must be willing to expose ourselves and model a sense of perseverance when faced with challenges, in order to shift towards a new statement:  "If I try, I will learn."