Create Opportunities for Failure
"Too many people go through life without ever having made an intense enough effort to be called a failure." Minoru Yasui
That's a quote carved into the stone outside the main college library here at Oregon State. I suppose failing to make an intense effort is failure in itself, but at least there is no particular object that was failed at.
Here's how the quote applies to my life...
When I used to play chess with my brother I would start to worry about losing. Rather than playing valiantly, losing, and knowing that I had lost in spite of concentrated effort to win, I would start to goof off and let the game go downhill. That way, my pride was not at stake in the face of a loss - but what's the point in playing if I'm not going to try? My brother put up with a lot...
It takes me forever to get down to writing poetry/stories because the task looms large and frightening. I guess I kind of feel (a bit subconsciously) like a rough draft should need little editing, but the reality is that it's much better to just go for it, get words on paper, and come back later to tweak and refine. As a case in point, last night my brain was lacking in energy and I felt like I had very little inspiration. I had previously written sort of what I wanted to say, but the idea of writing those thoughts in poetic rhyme and rhythm was daunting. Once I began, however, the words flowed relatively easily. Funny. Hopefully I'll remember that scenario next time I want to write something.
I really don't mind studying for my classes all that much - once I begin I actually sort of enjoy the subject matter, and it's really neat to know once it's learned. However, I often have some sort of block from studying. Maybe because I'm stressed about the upcoming test and don't want to face it, maybe because (strangely) I don't want to feel like I'm striving for something that I will be proud about, maybe because it seems like studying is something I don't like when in reality it's not all that bad (and part of it is sheer laziness). Next term I should sort through whatever strange psychology creates my study block, and see if I can whip it.
That's a quote carved into the stone outside the main college library here at Oregon State. I suppose failing to make an intense effort is failure in itself, but at least there is no particular object that was failed at.
Here's how the quote applies to my life...
When I used to play chess with my brother I would start to worry about losing. Rather than playing valiantly, losing, and knowing that I had lost in spite of concentrated effort to win, I would start to goof off and let the game go downhill. That way, my pride was not at stake in the face of a loss - but what's the point in playing if I'm not going to try? My brother put up with a lot...
It takes me forever to get down to writing poetry/stories because the task looms large and frightening. I guess I kind of feel (a bit subconsciously) like a rough draft should need little editing, but the reality is that it's much better to just go for it, get words on paper, and come back later to tweak and refine. As a case in point, last night my brain was lacking in energy and I felt like I had very little inspiration. I had previously written sort of what I wanted to say, but the idea of writing those thoughts in poetic rhyme and rhythm was daunting. Once I began, however, the words flowed relatively easily. Funny. Hopefully I'll remember that scenario next time I want to write something.
I really don't mind studying for my classes all that much - once I begin I actually sort of enjoy the subject matter, and it's really neat to know once it's learned. However, I often have some sort of block from studying. Maybe because I'm stressed about the upcoming test and don't want to face it, maybe because (strangely) I don't want to feel like I'm striving for something that I will be proud about, maybe because it seems like studying is something I don't like when in reality it's not all that bad (and part of it is sheer laziness). Next term I should sort through whatever strange psychology creates my study block, and see if I can whip it.
posted by Claire at 20:31
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home