Failure – and the art of chasing success
‘We spend most of our time and energy chasing success, such that we have little left over for thinking and feeling, being and relating. As a result, we fail in the deepest possible way. We fail as human beings. ‘
There is a book written by Dr. Neel Burton “The Art of Failure - The Anti Self-Help Guide”. ( my namesake, disclaimer - no relationship ;)) ..... I found the title very interesting and very deep and meaningful.
From my childhood, I have struggled with the concept of ‘success’ and ‘failure’. It makes my head spin when I try to understand it. A child in my 5th-grade class would be considered ‘successful’ when he would rank first or second (in those days and in the country where I grew up) we would be given a relative ranking in classrooms. But, wait a minute, I would think - on the other side of the coin, my parents would say that it is best to be modest; it is best to take care of others' needs rather than fulfilling personal needs and wishes and so on. So what about the other kid in my class who is going to rank 20th or 22nd, why do I have to beat him and get a better ranking than him?
If it is still confusing for me now …imagine how confusing it would have been for a 10-year-old!!