Why Failure is Positive.
Learning to Fail Will Help You Succeed.
In the creative field you need to nurture a strong threshold for handling failure. Learning right away that artistic failure leads to an intense learning experience will increase your creativity. Understanding that failure is part of the creative process opens the realization that a positive result is possible. The positive side of failure has led to creative genius. Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers and Benjamin Franklin are all good past examples of creatives who failed many times before they were successful inventors. As artists we can learn from the journey of inventors.
Pushing boundaries and stepping outside of comfort zones will make you a better artist. If any one profession teaches the cause and effects of failure, it would be working as an artist. Once we understand the meaning of failure, we begin to understand the principle of taking three steps backward and one step forward. Eventually those small steps moving in a positive forward motion equals success. By learning to fail, we eventually find the path that leads to success.
A good read is Shawn Achor’s book, “The Happiness Advantage”. Shawn stated in an interview with Srini Raos, the host of the Unmistakable Creative, “every time our mind experiences success the brain changes your goal post. Our brains need to keep going. We need to be grateful about success but aspirational at the same time.” When he discusses being aspirational at the same time, he is talking about the possibility of failure.
The next time you are feeling like pushing your creativity to another level, expect and embrace failures. Out of those failures, begin looking for positive points and build upon the small successes. Begin journaling about your successes and failures as you work your way through a new technique or project. Soon you will learn to look forward to experimenting with new projects and learning to expect the unexpected and you will find that you are growing as an artist by leaps and bounds.