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I'd say the same could be said for American culture. They're so obsessed with winning and losing and being a 'winner' and a 'loser.'
True about American culture but I find Chinese culture is more harsh and critical of failure in general.
Quote:
Originally Posted by halfwitwanderer
My opinion (also as a Chinese) is that we are more risk-averse than Western (American society). It's difficult to generalize either side, but the Chinese mindset is that any kind of failure is frowned upon, and so it is often swept under the rug, so to speak, whereas with the Western mindset, failure is more of an open possibility and something to overcome. I think it has to do largely with the Chinese emphasis on the "face" value of things, where one must look appealing and successful on the outside, no matter how much of a mess you are behind the scenes. As a consequence of this, no right-minded Chinese would ever consider failure as an ordinary part of life, since a failure would cause one to significantly "lose face." And the ultimate consequence to this, as I'm finding, is that we are less encouraged (sometimes even advised against) taking risks that have a good possibility of failure (and of course, with that, great reward).
I found that disregarding any artificial need to appease to "face" has made it more straight forward to achieve success, no matter how bumpy the path is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by slowlane3
This book provoked a great public outcry and condemnation of the author, last year
Not to digress but it seems pretty straight forward that a child raised in such a strict and demanding household will be more prone to experience failure in their childhood learning.
From what I've experienced, failure is looked upon more pessimistically in my own culture (Chinese) than in Western culture where it's sometimes looked upon as a legitimate learning experience.
Is there any deeper cultural origins to this fear of failure (if any)? I'm a big fan of Tomas Watson's quote: "Want great success? Double your rate of failure!" but it doesn't seem like this sort of ideal would fly well in Chinese culture...
Everyone fears that one would fail. This fear drives individuals to take action against failing.
If fear of failure prevents one fom trying to succeed in what is worthwhile, then the fear is too great.
If fear of failure prevents one from failing, then it is a very good thing.
How to deal with failure is very important, for when a failure/imperfection occurs, it should be examined to learn lessons to do better. Honesty is vital to benefit from this activity.
I still don't see fear of failure as particularly asian.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EdwinaLee-UK
Everyone fears that one would fail. This fear drives individuals to take action against failing.
If fear of failure prevents one fom trying to succeed in what is worthwhile, then the fear is too great.
If fear of failure prevents one from failing, then it is a very good thing.
How to deal with failure is very important, for when a failure/imperfection occurs, it should be examined to learn lessons to do better. Honesty is vital to benefit from this activity.
I still don't see fear of failure as particularly asian.
Me either. I think it's ingrained in human culture/society in general.
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