Face Failure, Don’t Fear It 

Hu Wanying 

A 30-year-old marketing specialist in Beijing  

Modern society has developed a strong tendency to encourage people and avoid environments in which they feel discouraged. When Chinese mathematician Wang Hong, a recent Fields Medal recipient, described her university experience as “discouraging,” her words sparked wide discussion. Behind this is a growing awareness of how harmful such an environment can be, and a desire to create one filled with love, praise and encouragement. 

But this raises a question: are younger generations becoming less accustomed to setbacks? Should we talk again about how to face failure? 

Creating an encouraging environment does not mean that people who grow up in it will lose the ability to deal with failure. Modern society has become much more aware of the pain failure can cause. When I was young, parents and teachers often told us that “failure is the mother of success.” Today, we try much harder to reduce that pain and even help people avoid failure. 

Yet encouragement does not make failure disappear. As long as we live in this world, failure is unavoidable. It appears everywhere, from learning and work to losing an election or simply being the last child in kindergarten to finish a meal. Failure is part of life. 

An environment of encouragement and acceptance may, in fact, be the first lesson in learning to face failure. The word I would use is “resilience.” In traditional Chinese culture, bamboo is often used as a metaphor for resilience. When strong winds come, bamboo bends but does not break. When the wind passes, it stands upright again. 

That is how we should approach failure. It may change us, force us to bend and make us reflect, but it can also give us a chance to adjust. I prefer to say “face failure” rather than “defeat failure,” because failure is not necessarily an enemy to conquer. It can be feedback from the outside world. We should face it, accept it, learn from it and adjust. 

Think of SpaceX. Its early rocket programme was marked by repeated failures. Yet each was treated as feedback. What went wrong? What needed to change? What should they try next? Eventually, those failures became part of the process that made success possible. 

Fail, Learn, Begin Again 

Getahun Assefa Tessema 

A 34-year-old Ethiopian journalist, TV show producer and host

We teach children to dream big, to be the best and to succeed. But do we teach them what to do when they fail? 

I often wonder whether, in our effort to encourage young people, we have unintentionally made failure feel shameful. In Ethiopia, I see this particularly among young people under enormous pressure to succeed. There is often an expectation to have the right degree, job and income. When one plan fails, some quickly conclude that they themselves have failed. 

Research by the Association of Ethiopian Microfinance Institutions and Addis Ababa University has found that fear of failure can discourage people from engaging in early-stage entrepreneurship in Ethiopia. This suggests that fear of failure is not simply a personal feeling; it can also influence whether young people are willing to take risks and pursue opportunities. 

But we should not simply blame young people for being afraid to fail. For many Ethiopian youth, failure can be expensive. Limited access to finance, employment, training and social support can make taking risks much harder. When opportunities are scarce, failing can feel like losing one of the few chances available. 

Perhaps this is why we need to change how we understand failure. 

In many families and schools, young people are encouraged to be perfect, get the highest grades, make the right choices and avoid mistakes. The intention is good, but perfection can create fear. If young people believe that successful people always get things right, they may give up when something does not work instead of seeing setbacks as part of the process. 

My own experience in journalism has taught me that not every idea works, not every opportunity materialises and not every rejection is the end of the story. Sometimes the most valuable lesson comes after something goes wrong. 

China’s development offers another reminder: progress is rarely a straight line. It requires experimentation, adjustment, persistence and a willingness to try again. Learning to fail does not mean celebrating failure or accepting mediocrity. It means understanding that failure is part of life, not an identity. 

The real danger is not failing. It is becoming so afraid of failing that we stop trying.