HOW DO YOU RESPOND?
Professionally, we get smacked and whacked all the time from end-of course student ratings, peer evaluations, annual reviews, promotion and tenure reviews, journal article and book rejections, and grant rejections, to name just a few. Some of these can be difficult to swallow on a regular basis and you may scratch your hairy or bald heads for answers; others can be devastating to your career path. We encounter all types of disappointments and failures on our academic journey. (See September 6, 2009 blog on “Rejection and Failure in Academe.”)
As noted in a previous blog, the issue is not whether we will fail, because we will; it’s how we respond to failure that our bosses, colleagues, family, and friends will be watching. It’s our response that counts.
ARE YOU A RISK-TAKER?
The athletes we watched for 16 days are risk-takers, baring it all mentally and physically for us to observe. They push the largest envelope you can imagine on the slopes, rinks, and halfpipes. When they cross the finish line, most wear their emotions on their tights.
What about you? Do you consider yourself a risk-taker or do you usually play it safe and operate within your comfort zone? Those of us who teach, write, and conduct research on the edge will take more hits than the rest of you.
A FEW LESSONS ON LOSING:
So what can we learn about “losing” from observing Olympian winners and losers? Although we’re not wearing their skates or ski boots, their messages are loud and clear:
1. A bad loser is always ugly.
2. Take risks, but be willing to take the hits.
3. Put 200% effort into anything of significance worth doing.
4. See beyond your failures. Don’t dwell on your failure; look toward your next event.
5. Learn lessons from your failures. Make adjustments before your next attempt.
6. Don’t let your failure define you. Failing is just a single event; you’re not a failure. Even a long string of failures does not define who you are.
7. After you fail, “KEEP MOVING FORWARD.” Persevere in spite of any setbacks—large or small.
BOTTOM LINE: Maybe this blog said nothing new to you. Sorry about that. Perhaps, at minimum, it’s just a reminder that if you’re a player in the academic game or any other game, you should play because you love it. It’s not just another job, like greeter at Walmart; it’s more of a calling. The operative word is “passion” for teaching, writing, research, clinical practice, or service. The sacrifices are too great and the journey is too hard if you’re only in it for the awards. There are so many winning gold medal professors, but so few awards that recognize them.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
Gretchen Bleiler was a gold contender in the women's snowboarding half-pipe, but she fell in both of her finals runs. I thought she handled it pretty well, by focusing on the personal victories she experienced rather the public one that she didn't experience...here's a snippet of an interview:
ReplyDeleteWhat did you think of your performance in Vancouver?
Ironically, the day of X Games finals, I started having problems with my signature trick, the Crippler 720. I was throwing it differently, and it wasn't coming around correctly...So, as you can imagine, it was really frustrating going into my Olympic day of competition not knowing if I could pull off a trick that's been so easy for me for the past year and a half and the trick that sets me apart from all other riders. It wasn't until my last run in finals where I totally surrendered to any doubts and totally trusted in my muscle memory, and I sent it! I landed the trick but came out of it with more speed than I was prepared for going into the next wall, and because of that I got over excited and left early on my Cab 7, which caused me to deck out and fall, unfortunately. So of course I was bummed because I was having a really great run--but I also had a feeling of satisfaction knowing that I had overcome a big head game that day by finally believing in myself and getting through that Crippler 720.
You won silver in 2006. How do you feel about missing the podium in 2010?
It was my goal to land my perfect run at Cypress and win the gold medal. On a night where a lot of girls were playing it safe, I really felt like I went for it, and I'm proud of myself for that. Of course, I would have loved to have that gold medal, but sometimes it's not always about the hardware but what you put into it.
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