How can graduating grade school students overcome their fear of failure?
- Accept failure when it happens.
- Recognize that failure is not the end.
- Consider failure part of your self-discovery.
- Be willing to learn.
- Be patient.
Graduating grade school students are at a transitionary point in their life. Moving from the childlike environment created for them by their parents and teachers to an atmosphere of more responsibilities and accountability is no easy feat.
Therefore, this transitionary period is often characterized by adjustment to new situations, emotional ups and downs, and plenty of trial and error. Very often, failure plays a big part during this time of their life, as it is one of two possible outcomes whenever a student tries something new.
When is Failure a Good Thing?
At Reedley, we believe that it would be best for all students to experience failure in some way or another because it’s a way for them to approach and overcome it positively.
In fact, if all students could learn from failure, they would be more mature and understanding of the reality that you can’t always achieve everything the first time around.
Unfortunately, some children are afraid to fail. This is because they think that failure is the opposite of success, rather than a mere step toward it. They could have learned this from their parents, their teachers, or their peers as they grew up, and too often it is ingrained from a young age and stays until adulthood.
How Can a Child Overcome Their Fear of Failure?
Children are impressionable, and they become less so as they graduate from the primary levels of schooling to the secondary level
If you’re a graduating grade school student, for example, you’re at the ideal age to be figuring out what values you want to take with you from your childhood into the world of being a teenager. There are very important lessons that are worth embracing from failure.
Accept Failure When It Happens.
The first step toward learning from failure is accepting it when it comes. That means recognizing that no one is perfect, so you don’t have to be, either. You have to recognize failure for what it is: not achieving something you put your mind toward, even though you tried.
Recognize that failure is not the end.
Immediately after accepting what failure is, you also need to acquaint yourself with what failure is not. Failure is not the end-all-be-all: failing at something does not mean you yourself are a failure, and it doesn’t mean you can no longer achieve what you set out to do.
Consider Failure Part of Your Self-Discovery.
If you can see failure as part of a bigger journey toward success, you will learn to find purpose in every failure you experience. Once you do this, failure becomes less scary.
Another thing you can do is accept that everyone goes through failure, and that’s the only way they grow. To discover who you are, you need trial and error, and that means failing every once in a while. But learning from failure means knowing what you’re good at, what to improve on, what matters to you, and what you should place value in.
Be Willing to Learn.
Once you are able to look at failure in a more optimistic light, you can start learning each time you fail.
For example, if you fall from your bike once, don’t throw a temper tantrum and give up on riding a bike completely. Pick up the bike, and try again. But when you try again, try something new. That’s what it means to learn from your mistakes—it’s knowing what you shouldn’t do the next time around.
Be Patient.
In the example above, you’ll likely find yourself able to ride a bike successfully in no time. But in the case of bigger failures or higher achievements, it might take more time, effort, and patience on your part. So when the time comes that failure seems to happen again and again, don’t be discouraged or tempted to give up.
Another thing to remember is not to compare your failures or successes with others, including your peers. Instead, be happy for those who succeed and assess what they’re doing right—you might learn a thing or two from them as well.
Key Takeaway
When you’re at a transitionary period in your life, it’s natural to fail once in a while. But if you choose to look at it in a positive light and make the most out of every failure, you’ll see it less as an obstacle to success, and more as a challenge to overcome. And once you do overcome failure, success will be that much sweeter.
For graduating grade school students, we want to congratulate you for achieving your successes as well as for overcoming your failures—you deserve all the praise for powering through both.
For more tips and guidance from the best international school in Manila, check out the rest of our blog. And if you’d like to know more about us or have a question to ask, we’re all ears here at Reedley International School. Contact us today!
