“Failure is not an option” is a common phrase, particularly in an academic setting. But it turns out that not only is failure an option, it’s a benefit. Succeeding at something on your first try is a confidence booster for sure, but that feeling is fleeting.

On the other hand, when you fail, it makes you retrace your steps to find out what went wrong.

Failure early on in your academic career can be disappointing. It can even cause you to question your career choice. Why is failure actually a good thing, and how do you use it to your advantage?

What Defines Failure?

Failure is loosely defined as not reaching a goal you set for yourself. Perceived failure can be personally or professionally. When it comes to personal matters, failure can mean not sticking to your diet, or a marriage ending in divorce.

Not getting that promotion you wanted, or losing out on an award to a colleague, can be just as devastating as a personal failure.

For those in academics, when your students fail, so do you.

However, both students and faculty need to get out of the mindset that failure is a bad thing.

Many young students are pressured to get perfect grades starting in primary school. Such pressures can follow them throughout their academic career, including higher education.

Why should failure actually be the preferred option?

Why Mistakes Are Integral to Learning

No one likes to make mistakes, but it turns out mistakes are a fundamental part of learning. How? When you already know everything, there is no room for growth. Imagine if an entire classroom of students knew the answers on the first day of class. There would be no reason for instructors.

Studies show that failure actually improves learning. Knowing the correct answer or the material immediately may give a moment of self-satisfaction, but with little self-reflection.

Conversely, when you make a mistake, you don’t immediately move on. Instead, you look back at your actions to see where you went wrong.

In education, that means studying material to find where your error occurred. During the course of studying, your brain retains the new (correct) information, thus learning something.

Mistakes made by the instructors are a different breed than those of the students. But the same learning process applies.

A feeling of dejection usually comes with failure. Looking at mistakes in a positive light can help combat poor self-esteem.

There are no mistakes, only learning opportunities.

How to Use Your Early Failures to Grow as a Researcher

Mistakes in research can be devastating to the team as a whole. They can set entire projects back to the very beginning. But what if the mistakes actually make you a better researcher overall?

Failure early in your academic career, as a scholar or a researcher, can elevate your skills later in your profession. Each mistake equals a learning opportunity. Framing mistakes in a positive light goes beyond just students. 

Even at the top of their respective fields, educators still have room to grow.

How do you apply failure to personal and professional growth? Much like students, researchers strive for near perfection in their work. High standards are a good thing, but not if they are impossible to reach.

When you fail at something - whether it’s a Postdoc research project or a final exam as an undergrad - you won’t make the same mistake a second time. As much as educators hate to admit it, the entire learning process is based on failure.

As a researcher, your early failures can ultimately benefit you in the long run.

Use Your Impactio Network as a Learning Tool

Commiserating with other researchers and scholars about how they turned early failures into success can take the string out of your own mistakes, but where can you connect with others outside of your immediate circle? The answer is Impactio, the premier platform for networking among academics.

Create your Impactio profile today to start making connections that can bolster the trajectory of your career.