Tremaine Visiting Speaker's Series with Dr. Jennifer Heemstra: Mentorship Seminar

Mentorship seminar: “Why success is more likely when you’re willing to fail.”

Failure can be a word that makes us cringe, yet most of us appreciate its value…at least in some areas of our lives. If we’re playing sports or busy at a hobby and find ourselves faced with a situation where failure is possible (or even likely), often we don’t even hesitate before pushing forward and giving it our best try. Think about a soccer player dribbling the ball down the field and suddenly realizing they have an open shot on goal. Failure is possible, but chances are they take the shot. Being willing to fail can feel easy when we’re having fun and the stakes are low, but what about when the stakes are high? What about when you feel like your career depends on a certain outcome or result? In many cases, failure can be objectively bad for your career. However, being willing to fail can actually make you more likely to succeed. And with the right mindset, your failure can even be what fuels your biggest success. We’ll dive into the psychology behind why this is and how we can become more open to failure and explore how that applies to research and innovation.