The F Word: Why Failure Is Your Friend

Failure: doesn’t sound great, feels even worse. But is there a chance it could be your new secret weapon?

- Alexandra Jones

A few years ago, in a job going nowhere fast, I decided to have a crack at a different industry. After weeks of laborious War and Peace-length applications, I was invited for an interview and tasked with giving a presentation. On e-soccer. To be clear, I’ve never owned a PlayStation or an Xbox. Nor have I ever followed a real soccer tournament. In the 180 seconds that came next, I felt as if I were perilously perched on the edge of a 15m diving board, ready to fall. Stomach churning and mind buzzing, I did the only thing I thought I could: I typed a reply politely apologising and withdrew from the process. Why? Because I was shit-scared I’d fail.

So the question is: why the terror? “Our brains have evolved to be particularly adept at zoning in on the potential negative outcomes of our actions,” says neuroscientist Dr Rick Hanson. It’s a phenomenon demonstrated in a 1998 study by Ohio State University, where researchers found that negative images prompted more electrical activity in the brain than positive ones. “Your brain is engineered to be triggered by threats, perceived or otherwise,” says Hanson. “It’s why, after glancing at faces for just a tenth of a second, participants fixated on angry or threatening ones, while barely noticing those that looked happy.” Intriguing!