Missing More Than Winning

Missing More Than Winning

There’s a famous Michael Jordan quote:?

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

?

This last winter, I taught my 6-year-old daughter how to snow ski. Skiing has been a big part of my life since I was about 4 years old, I absolutely love being in the backcountry making fresh tracks or cruising a fresh groomer. I grew up in the northwest, so ski resorts and mountains were always readily accessible but living in the Midwest now, our options now are a bit more limited. So last week when we were on a family trip to Oregon/Washington, my daughter wanted to show of her skills for Grandpa (also an avid skier). Up to Mt. Hood we went, so she could catch some of the few remaining skiable days of summer up near Palmer Glacier.

?

The entire drive up, Eliot was very excited, talking non-stop asking a million questions (as 6-year-old children do). One of her series of questions was fixated on validating if she was “a professional skier” or not. Eliot desires to be great at whatever she does, but still learning the virtue of patience, she tends to want to shortcut to mastery (we all know that cannot be done). After carefully dancing through those questions with her, we made it to the mountain and her first few runs were excellent (considering she hasn’t skied since March). Then she fell on the 4th run. This frustrated her, feeling like she had failed. But true to her character, she got up and made a few more runs, before calling it a morning.

?

On the drive home, we talked about how falling is a part of learning. It means we are trying new things, just outside of our comfort zone. Next year, she will fall more, as she extends her experience into using poles, turning more frequently, and increasingly carving longer and longer runs. The season after that, she will fall even more, graduating to bigger mountains, more challenging runs, and on it goes.

?

But just as I am obligated to remind Eliot of, we all must embrace the falls, and possibly even appreciate them. In an article by the NY Times, normalizing discussing our failures is a big part of growth also (something Eliot taught me on that drive home). “…having face-to-face conversations around failure can be especially effective in building stronger relationships among colleagues.” When we openly discuss our falls and failures, we do a few things naturally – we reflect (a superpower I’ve written about before), we leverage our support system (deepening relationships), and we lean into the miss to grow from it.

?

We’ll all miss more than we win, it’s a fact of life. The way we treat those misses; however, determines how often we win going forward.

Emie Bessmer

Human Resources at Enterprise Properties, Inc.

1 年

Such a great reminder Mark!

Kim Lynch

Senior Account Manager @ MyStaff Inc | RecruitingTop Talent

1 年

Love this article! We all fall down, it's getting back up that's important. Thanks Mark!

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Mark Haner的更多文章

  • Growing Through Discomfort

    Growing Through Discomfort

    Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski, shared a metaphor that has stuck with me ever since I first heard it.

  • 100 Editions of Monday Morning Thoughts: A Milestone Worth Celebrating

    100 Editions of Monday Morning Thoughts: A Milestone Worth Celebrating

    Fifteen years ago, I started writing down thoughts, lessons, and reflections—sometimes for myself, sometimes for…

    9 条评论
  • We Can Do Hard Things!

    We Can Do Hard Things!

    “We can do hard things.” — Glennon Doyle Life has a way of testing us and lately, I’ve felt tested an awful lot!…

    2 条评论
  • Champions Adjust

    Champions Adjust

    A few weeks ago, I was in New York City for some meetings, and during a 1:1 with Sally Joyce, we found ourselves deep…

    4 条评论
  • Leading Through the Snow: Reducing Anxiety in Uncertain Times

    Leading Through the Snow: Reducing Anxiety in Uncertain Times

    A few years ago, my family and I were driving the Wind River Mountain Range on our way to Yellowstone National Park…

    5 条评论
  • Be Open to the New – Embrace the New

    Be Open to the New – Embrace the New

    In 2007, Netflix was thriving as a DVD rental business (anyone else remember getting those little red envelops in the…

    1 条评论
  • Fixing the Nets: Preparing for the Next Opportunity

    Fixing the Nets: Preparing for the Next Opportunity

    When fishermen aren’t at sea hauling in their catch, they’re often found on the shore, meticulously fixing their nets…

    1 条评论
  • It All Makes Sense (with enough information)

    It All Makes Sense (with enough information)

    Some of you may have already heard this, but recently while listening to a podcast, I came across the expression “all…

    1 条评论
  • Quitters' Day

    Quitters' Day

    Did you know there’s an annual “holiday” called ‘Quitters’ Day’? This year, Quitters’ Day falls on Friday, January 10…

    2 条评论
  • Reflecting on 2024

    Reflecting on 2024

    As the year comes to a close and we prepare to welcome 2025, we find ourselves at a perfect juncture to reflect on the…

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了