I love many aspects of skateboarding. It’s a creative outlet, a social event, optionally dangerous, optionally competitive, and continually educational.

I learned to fail when I picked up a skateboard in High School. I would try the same trick hundreds of times until I got it. Each miss (or slam) gave me new insight into small changes in my technique.

I’m noticing now that I got better at skateboarding because I got better at observing my body movements and changing isolated actions (kick forward, increase the angle of the board to the ground, rotate my shoulders before I pop my board). I now use this kind of disciplined thought in my work and in my relationships. I certainly act on gut instinct when it’s warranted, but I don’t typically act out of a fear of failure. I make decisions knowing that if I fail, it probably won’t be the end of the world, and most of the time, I’ll have a second (or third, or fourth) chance.

How did you learn to fail? How can teachers help students to fail well?