College Comp I Class Blog

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Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Block 3 - TEDx I Seek Failure

After watching this TEDx video, leave three takeaways. Then leave two connections to The Dip.

 

27 comments:

  1. I love how he recognizes his disdain for his main competitor on the rowing team. That's how we naturally view our rivals or competition. Rather than asking ourselves, what can I learn (or steal) from them, we tend to try and discredit them. This is futile. If they're better than us, they'll beat us regardless. Instead, learn from our rivals to up the stakes and improve ourselves.

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  2. "I seek failure." This reminds me of the iconic Nike commercial featuring Michael Jordan. The greatest basketball player ever - maybe the greatest athlete ever - ends the clip with the line, I'm a success because I fail everyday. Talk about embracing failure and learning from it rather than stigmatizing it.

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  3. Talk about pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone (or beyond your known limit). Imagine if we did this for something in our lives - whether it be in athletics or academics. What could we accomplish. We all have capacity bubbles. Instead of working to enlarge it, most tend to try and let it shrivel.

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  4. When Adam Kreek talks about being at the edge of your capacity bubble, this is a great way to work or 'lean into' a dip. By pushing yourself so hard, you hard actually working your way out of the dip. The funny thing is, the harder you work, the quicker you get out of the dip. The more you lay off and slack, the more you are extending the dip.

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  5. When Kreek talks about his teammates - and their successes and failures - he highlights somethings that Robinson and Godin talk about: tribes. Because he is part of a team, especially with his rivalry with his main competitor on the team - he is able to not only enter his element but to seek out harder and harder dips, which is what it is all about.

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  6. The main point I took away from this is that failing happily is a good thing. We all need to fail happily more. It is a choice to be happy or sad after we fail, if we choose to be happy, it can turn it into a learning experience.

    Another Point I took away from this is taking the slow route. He knew they could fly over the ocean, but taking the slow route meant more. It was more beautiful, and he and his team were doing what they enjoyed doing. I believe that you can't rush something good, so if we take the slow route in things, especially important things, they will turn out better.

    I can connect this to the Dip because he talks about what he learned from his olympic teammate who was better than him. What he learned was you need to force yourself to fail sometimes, and that with what Seth says in the Dip as well. If you know you can't do it, you need to quite before you get in the Dip.

    Adam also talks about the capacity bubble in the video, he talks about pushing ourself to the outer rim of our capacity bubble. This reminds me of going all the way into the dip, and embracing the Dip. It will be worth it after we embrace our dip or go to the edges of our capacity bubble.

    When Adam talks about failing happily it reminded me of the dip because Seth says if you fail/quit something that wasn't meant for you, it is a good thing! This is almost the same as what Adam says except he also thinks it is good to fail at what you want to be the best at.

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  7. When in the Atlantic Ocean waiting for rescue, they had realized that they had failed. Instead of looking at that failure as a disappointment, they all decided to make the best out of it. In that decision they had used the failure as a learning experience that they will never forget. They had learned that that had been their limit, other than death, and now they know where to go from there.

    One thing I really agreed on was when he said it was proven that when your brain is happy, you are much better at math, reading, and communicating. I agree with this because when you are happy you are most optimistic with a better outlook on life. Keeping your happiness is very important.

    I thought it was interesting how his teammate told him that he seeks failure. He picks one day out of the week that they have workouts and he will push himself to his max. He goes into the workout seeking failure of his body. For the rest of the workouts, he now knows how to stay right below the bar of failure. Right below the bar of failure is where progress is made.

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  8. 1. One thing that I took away was how he was mad that one of his teammates was beating him. He said how he didn't like him and wanted to confront him and talk it out. But then he stepped back and realized that yes, it competition, but we are still teammates. I personally think this concept gets lost in sports at times. We forget that we are on the same team. That's something that we always need to remember.

    2. Another thing that I thought was very interesting was seek failure. It's okay to fail. I liked the way his friend explained it to him. When he said I choose one day to push myself to fail. Then, once I reach that limit I hover right below it all week! He then went on to say, right below your limit is where success happens. I think that was a perfect way explaining how to be successful.

    3. My final take away would be at the end, when they told the media that they weren't mad that they failed. He talked about all the amazing things he got to experience on their journey, even though they didn't accomplish their main goal, they accomplished little ones! I think alone that alone would be worth wild.

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  9. 1. I think his friend Jordan, pushed through the Dip when he was turning purple. That would have took a lot of effort to try to keep warm and push yourself through, until you could get warm/warmer. Even while he was facing this he still managed to have by saying, "I look good in purple." That is one connection I make with the Dip.

    2. My second connection would be when he talks about having a capacity bubble. How if we push our selfs to the outside of the bubble we will have success in what we want to accomplish. I think this is just like that Dip, if you want to be successful they you have to push yourself to the limit and go into the Dip.

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  10. 'The Dip' is all about pushing through failures. At the very lowest of your dip, your motivation to make it through the dip is much higher if you have a positive failure, as Adam Kreek says. He mentions how positive failures are where most life experiences happen. It's up to you to take failure as a positive learning experience and lean into the dip.

    Adam talks about how failing is a good thing which reminded me of The Dip. Many times you will come across failure, but that does not always mean you should give up. Failing is major part of the dip. It's impossible to succeed without failure.

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  11. Take Aways:
    - Failure is not always a bad thing. It is going to happen whether you want it to or not, so why not embrace it and make the most of it rather than beating yourself up over it?

    - Most of the time, you are not happy when you succeed. This ties in with the above. Knowing that you pushed yourself to your limit, and failed is actually a good feeling. If you are able to take failing as a sort of "corrective criticism" way, then you are essentially helping yourself get better. Michael Jordan did not make his high school basketball team. He failed, but did not give up and ended up changing the game of basketball forever.

    - I liked the part when he talked about his teammate that came along and was better than him. Yes, at first he shunned him and did not want anything to do with him. After a while he realized that he can learn from him instead of hating him. By him doing that he learned the, "I seek failure" way of life, and he seems to take failing a whole lot differently afterwards.

    Connections:
    - Kreek talks about how he and three others rowed from Africa to America and failed. This plays into what Seth Godin said was the reason why we are here. Godin said that the reason we are here is to face the dips in life. Our whole lives are a series of dips. Kreeks' whole sport is a series of dips. Everything he talked about was how he failed, and the obstacles that he had to overcome.

    - Kreek's teammate said that he seeks failure. He pushes himself to the point where he physically, and mentally cannot do it anymore. This is what the dip is all about. Pushing yourself to the absolute brink and coming out on the other side.

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  12. When the media asks Kreek if he was upset that his Boat had capsized and he replies by excepting his failure. He tells them of all the experiences he has had while rowing the atlantic. The takeaway from this is the happy failure aspect. Be able to respect what you couldn't do and be better.

    Mediocre is not part of Kreek's vocabulary. Olympics champion, rowing across the atlantic and many other titles. His father had told him to simply be the best, and I think Kreek has displayed that. This relates to how Godin always spoke of how average was over and being the best at something was vital.

    I believe it is important to know your capacity bubble. A person should push their self to failure as did Jake Wetzel. For an athlete, student, worker or anybody this information is vital. FInd the spot where you can't exceed anymore and live below that line just a little bit. This will create a better capacity threshold for anything you do.

    Kreek was the best rower until Jake came along. Like any person Kreek was a little discouraged believed Jake was a jerk, idiot and didn't want anything to do with him. This dip had begun now because Kreek now had someone better than him. He could have quit the team and moved on but instead he chose to learn from Jake. This was his way of leaning into the dip and defeating it.

    Rowing across the ocean isn't a easy task for anybody. Not many people wake up and think they would like to spend the next few months of their life rowing. Kreek and his team of buddies performed an improbable dip of rowing across the atlantic. Kreek almost died and their whole trip was ruined by capsizing their boat. Although they didn't succeed I believe they still made it through the dip by their failure.

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  13. Three Takeaways
    Adam explains how the majority of life happens when you fail happily. It’s probably the most important thing we need to learn. When you fail, you have to look at why you failed, then fix it. It won’t do you any good to look at failure in a negative way. It’s all just a learning experience.

    The best part of Adam’s TED Talk was when he told the story about the new teammate. Everyone wants to be the best, average doesn’t even cut it anymore. So when you are the best, then someone interrupts that, you’re going to have an issue with them. Luckily, Adam decided to do the mature thing and talk to his teammate. Too many people nowadays would have just held a grudge. That’s not going to help anyone. If you’re on a team, you have to work together even if you’re competing on a personal level.

    Another thing I took away from the TED Talk was that the fast route isn’t always the best. It would take them months to row across the Atlantic, but they chose to do that instead of flying to improve themselves. It goes along with how the easiest route isn’t always the best, either. It would have taken a lot less effort to buy a plane ticket than row, but, again, that wouldn’t help them improve anything.

    Two Connections to The Dip
    Adam’s new teammate knew what the dip was and how to get through it (although he probably didn’t call it the dip). He could have settled and worked out the normal way. Instead, he pushed himself to the limit every week and went from there. He sought out failure so that he would improve, and it worked. His constant failure allowed him to get through the dip, making him one of the best rowers in the world.

    The other connection was with failing happily. If you grudgingly fail, you won’t get through a dip. Getting through a dip means that you will fail, but you have to take something away from it. You have to stay positive. Look at why you failed and change it. It’s one of the best ways to get yourself to lean into the dip. Failure helps you get through it.

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  15. One point I took from the video is that being a happy failure is where you should be if you want to succeed in anything you do. You must fail in order to learn, which will make you better. Why be sad about losing when it's actually helping you in the long run?

    Another thing I took from the video was why give up because of one failure? Kreek and his friends failed rowing across the ocean, however they didn't give up on rowing. Why quit when you could use the failure to your advantage. Learn from your mistakes, not give up.

    The last thing I took from the video was How Kreek acted toward his teammate. He could've just continued to be a jerk, however, he asked him how he is so good. Kreek is kind of admitting failure here, because he isn't the best anymore.

    One thing I thought that related to the dip was that when Kreek was asking his teammate about how he was so good, Kreek was looking to better himself to be the "best in the world". Because of his new teammate, he was no longer the best.

    The second thing I thought that related to the book was when they capsized their boat. They never gave up until they knew they couldn't do any more. They aimed to high and they ended up failing, yet they used that failure as a learning experience.

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  16. The thing I noticed off the bat is that this man seems really happy with every situation he is put in. He has been in quite a few major dips and embraces it. He extends his happiness beyond only being happy with failure. He is happy with all things

    Another message I got was that everything, regardless of how bad it is, can be story fuel later on. If you look at it as a future story while it's happening, frankly, it'll be a little less painful.

    The final things I realized was that this man seems to have perfected reframing his situations. He goes into everything knowing that at some point, he will fail. He doesn't look at it as a bad thing though. He goes to the point of failure and uses it as a standard. Over time. the bar raises through training.

    All of this relates to the Dip in a very obvious way. Don't quit when it gets hard and embrace failure. In doing this, you'll reach a numerous bunch of scarcities. Optimism is one of them. Another is having a specific edge in whatever you have failed and overcame.

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    Replies
    1. Forgot another connection! His dad told him to be the best at what he decides to be. That's exactly what the dip is about. Don't be average. Getting through the dip takes you out of the average category and puts you right next to the masters.

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  17. 1) I was really able to connect to the story about how Kreek was mad at his teammate for being better than him. A lot of us are competitive, and this happens in academics, sports, and basically our every day lives because everyone wants to be the best. Everyone wants to be number one but we must be reminded that we are on the same team. When people are better than us we should learn from them to get better ourselves.

    2) Failing happy is the best way to do it. Yes, we will all fail. There is no way to get around failure, but the way we respond to failure is our choice. The way to respond to everything in life is our own choice. Having a positive attitude with everything in life is what makes us successful.

    3) Kreek says that his buddy told him that he seeks failure. That was really interesting to me because most people try to avoid failure. However, hearing a different perspective on failure kind of changed my idea of it. You should seek failure, because when you do that means you are trying your best or reaching your limits. You aren't holding back just because you are afraid to fail.

    Connections to the Dip:

    1) A big dip for Kreek was when he first lost in the Olympics. The was a big dip because he could have given in to failure and given up but instead he worked through it and years later became a part of the winning team of the Olympics.

    2) Kreeks buddy Jake knew how to get through the dip physically. He pushed himself to his limits even when it was hard. Jake was successful and the best in the world because he was able to get through the dips.

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  18. The dip is the “slow route” that the man refers to. He says he feels better and learns more by taking the slow route. It is the same with the dip. If you choose the harder route you will feel better in the end then taking the fast route.

    Competition if referred to in both The Dip and the Ted video. When you dig a bigger hole its harder for the competition to compete with you. The video shows that you can learn from those who leave a big hole behind them, and you can get better by making it through their hole.

    1. Your brain is smarter when you are happy. Something so simple but it stuck with me and I can see how that is true.

    2. Most of your life is spent in the happy fail box. The whole box diagram is pretty interesting. That is where we learn and grow, so embrace it.

    3. Challenge yourself to fail. Push past your limit, and when you fail, fail again tomorrow.

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  19. I like when he talks about taking the “slow route.” Even though he could get across the Atlantic a lot faster, and probably safer, by flying, he takes the slow route and rows. I agree with him when he says that you will learn more by taking the slow route. By always taking the fast route, you are missing out on all of the great things that you could be getting on the slow route.

    The idea of hovering just below your limit is an appealing to me. This could be applied to basically everything that you do in life. Sports, a job, working out, or even simple everyday tasks, you could be hovering just below your limit waiting to fail so that you can get better.

    When their boat had capsized and they were waiting to be rescued, the 4 men realized that they had failed. They did not take this as disappointing, though. By failing, they realized how much they had learned from this.



    The capacity bubble and the dip are the same type of things. The dip is where most people quit because it gets too hard, and people are so afraid of failing, they never actual go to their actual limits. They always stop short. If you are in the dip and you have put all of the time into whatever you are doing, don’t quit. The same goes for the capacity bubble. If you are hovering below your limit, don’t quit.

    Adam Kreek’s father told him to be the best at what he decides to be. In The Dip, Godin says that being well rounded is the worst advice they could give in school. He says to be the best at one thing. Both of these stories tell you to be the very best you can be at one specific thing, not mediocre at a bunch of things.

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  20. One of the key lines that I took out of this was the line "I look good in purple!" They had been in the water for three hours and Jordan was so cold that he was starting to get hypothermia. He wanted to help his friends flip over the boat, he didn't want to give up, even if that meant risking his health. Jordan was so determined that he didn't care about himself he was going to do everything that he had to for the three other guys that he was with.

    Another topic Kreek talked about was making sure you pushed yourself out of your comfort zones. I am always trying to step beyond mine and do things that I didn't think that I could.

    Failure is apart of life. There is no way that you are going to succeed in everything you do so why not learn from when you do fail? Failure tells you where you stand and what places you can improve on for next time. Failure is not a bad thing.

    Kreek said that happy mind works best and so did Seth Godin in The Dip. You just have a better mindset and feel like you can get more done.

    His dad tells him that he should be the best at what he should decide to do. That is the whole concept of The Dip.

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  21. The main thing I took away from this is if you are going to fail, fail happily. There is power in failing happily, we have greater confidence. We actually can become more successful. As ironic as it sounds it makes sense, if you fail, fail happily. We all should be open to failing happily more often.

    By taking the slow route you can learn more. Take time to learn lessons and do things the hard way. You gain more knowledge and there are great things to be learned by going slow. I believe this is a great lesson to be learned and the feeling of success after doing things the hard way is more rewarding.

    We all have a comfort zone. Nobody likes to be pushed out of their comfort zone because it's not comfortable. Seek failure and embrace it. I feel if we never step out of our comfort zone we will get stuck in the Cul-De-Sac.

    When Kreek talks about failing in the olympics. He could have given up but he didn't. He went for the big goal and even though he failed he failed happily. Being the best is all well and good but we also need to be okay with not being perfect.

    His dad tells him he has to be the best. So he decides to be the best happy failer. I feel like that's a loophole. You can be the best, but also fail. Being the best is the whole idea of the Dip, and he is the best, at failing.

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  22. Take aways:
    1. If we fail happily and effectively we build more self confidence, have greater self esteem, make more connections, and will become more successful.
    2. You can do anything in spandex. If you can win the olympics in spandex, they must have some beneficial quality.
    3. If someone is better than you at something, instead of hating them, learn from them. Use what they're doing to make yourself better.

    Connections:
    1. If you take the slow route you learn more. This could be talking about the dip. If instead of quitting and work your way through the dip, you will learn so much more than if you took the easy way out.
    2. Kreek was in a dip after the first time he lost the olympics. But instead of giving up, he persevered and won the following olympics.

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  23. Grant Stewart
    Dip is about pushing through failures.But if you're going to fail, fail happily. By that you will have more confidence by failing and won't feel as bad about it.
    I like the "Slow Route" idea he talks about. He could've taken the easy way out but instead took the slow route and rowed the entire way. You learn more by taking the slow route I think. If you take the fast route you fly by to fast and don't get to appreciate whatever it is your doing but if you take the slow route you can take as much time as you need and appreciate all the things in life.
    Everything, no matter how bad it is, can be fuel for a later story in life. If you do look at it and can picture yourself telling it in the future, the story will create itself.
    Kreek says his friend told him that he seeks failure. I liked that because most people try to avoid failure. But hearing another person talk on failure changed my perspective of it. By seeking failure, you're trying your best on reaching your limits. Your not holding back just because you are afraid to fail and I agree with that.
    Adam talks about how failing is a good thing. Many times you will run into failure, but that does not mean you should give up. Failing is a big part of the dip which helps you climb out of it. You wouldn't succeed without failure.

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  24. This guy really makes a lot of good points. The first thing that I took away was the fact that no one is going to make it through life without failure. So, since failure is often inevitable, you should embrace it and get all that you can out of it, (like all the feelings and sights that Adam took in while in the lifeboat). If you can take away a lot of positives from a perceived negative, then really you've won.
    Secondly, being perfect or being the best at something will not always bring you happiness, this contradicts Godin's "best in the world" notion, but I feel that it's important. Kreeg says that even after he won the olympics he didn't feel complete, and he was relatively unhappy. It seems odd that failure could ever be sweeter than success, but sometimes it's true.
    Lastly, failure often leads to successes. If you increase your 'bubble' and keep pushing the boundaries, eventually you're going to push those boundaries out far enough to reach your goal. This probably won't happen without failing a few times, and that is an important thing to know.

    Connections to the dip: 1. Once you're in it for the long haul, go for broke. Godin explained in "The Dip" that there is a certain point of no return, where you've worked too hard to give up, and it's just about to pay off. You might fail at that point, but do not quit. You will feel much worse and won't get nearly the same moral reward from the experience.
    2. Godin explains how once you find yourself in a place where there is no room for personal growth, that you need to quit and move on. This can be related to Kreeg saying that you need to get out of your comfort zone, and push yourself to the limits, and seek failure rather than avoid it.

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  25. Three Take aways
    Take the slow route. It will feel like you deserved it better.

    It is okay to seek failure. Failure isn't a bad thing it helps you learn where your limit is.

    There is a happy fail. It makes your brain work better.


    Two Connections to The Dip.

    You can do anything you want but be the best at it.

    Failure is not a bad thing.

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  26. In hockey I have always come to hate my opponent when really I could learn a lot from them. Yea I may hate them for beating me but really maybe they have done something to become good that I need to learn and then also do.

    You are going to fail and it is okay to fail. You learn from failing and why everyone is so against it is beyond me. No one is going to go through life and not fail one time so why don't we spend more time trying to learn and get something out of the experience rather than trying to not fail altogether.

    I have been through a time where if I worked somewhat hard I was okay with it and I didn't really know what my limit was. I then realized that I could give so much more and become so much better by just increasing my work ethic.

    When you commit yourself and time to something go all in and become the best don't settle for being good want to be the best

    When things are going hard that is when you have to work harder and put more time in.

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