Have you ever played a sport and come up just short in the playoffs? It’s hard to see at the time, but that failure is almost certainly a good thing for you.  The idea of failure, success, and its place in our lives was the focus of the Honor program’s most recent Compelling Conversation.

The Hamline Honors program is currently in its third year at Hamline, and its director, Professor Susie Steinbach, is redoubling her efforts to increase student interest in this program.

The Hamline Honors program involves completing four separate requirements over the course of a typical four-year education at Hamline. These four requirements include: Academic Excellence, Research Experience, Contributions to Community, and Development as a Lifelong Learner. Academic Excellence expects Honors students to meet certain grade requirements, Research Experience involves students participating in two research projects—Contributions to Community asks students to improve the community around Hamline, and Development as a Lifelong Learner provides students with the opportunity to develop their abilities to learn outside of the classroom and contribute to the Hamline community.

Under each requirement to complete an Honors course are certain events and activities that students can attend for points. One series of events that fall under the banner of Development as a Lifelong Learner are the “Compelling Conversations” that occur every few months and cover a wide range of topics and are led by Steinbach and a guest professor or two. These conversations have ranged from science education to the arts. Last Tuesday, March 14, the Compelling Conversation was discussing the idea of failure and success, and how they are defined, in modern culture.

During a dialogue near the beginning of the conversation, Steinbach advised,

“The only way to teach persistence is failure.” Accepting failure can help one cope with the emotions that come with it, and getting past the failure and driving harder than ever to succeed is greatly rewarding.

Several of the key points brought up in the discussion were ways that failures can ultimately be converted into successes, that similar advice heard from several sources should be listened to, and the idea of what truly can be defined as a complete success. The general agreement between the nearly thirty people present was that if you as a person take something, a meaning, an idea, a concept, away from a failure, that the failure could eventually lead to a success. This idea was most specifically related in the conversation to relationships; if someone can learn from the decisions made in a relationship, it could ultimately lead them to being a better partner.

Steinbach had several pieces of advice for the participants throughout the two hour open forum.

“In places where you drive yourself crazy, that’s where you should put the most work,” she said during a discussion about self-improvement and how that can make one successful.

If you are interested in learning more about these Compelling Conversations, or if you are interested in learning more about the Hamline Honors program, contact Professor Steinbach or check out the Hamline Honors page on the official Hamline website. Keep an eye on the Hamline calendar—more Compelling Conversations are coming soon.