Walk with Him: Learn to Fail Well
Genesis 3-4; Moses 4-5 — Come, Follow Me: Old Testament 2026
(January 19-24)
Three Thoughts from Terri
What do you do when you fail or make a mistake?
Throw the towel, blame the coach, create a story that justifies the mistake, “I’m just not any good at this,” quit, or worse of all, never try again. Carol Dweck calls this a fixed mindset response. Satan cheers. God weeps.
Or do you make a different choice?
Recognize and own the specific way you made a mistake. Then forgive–yourself and others. Forgiveness frees you to examine what went wrong and learn from the experience. Learning then invigorates and moves you into a space of renewing your efforts to try again. Carol Dweck calls this a growth mindset response. Satan is frustrated. God cheers.
It was never a question of would we fail, just a question of how we would respond when we do. We can make the better choice, the choice that leads to growth, because the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ enables us to always forgive, learn, and try again.
Quotes from Others
“Growth mindset is a buffer against defeatism. It reframes failure as a natural part of the change process. And that’s critical because people will persevere only if they perceive falling down as learning rather than as failing,” (Carol Dweck from her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success)
“In the Savior’s final week of mortality, He said, ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). Because the Savior performed His Atonement, there is no external force or event or person–no sin or death or divorce–that can prevent us from achieving exaltation, provided we keep God’s commandments. With that knowledge, we can press forward with good cheer and absolute assurance that God is with us in this heavenly quest.” (Ted Callister from his book, The Atonement of Jesus Christ)
A Tool for You
If I ever get a tattoo, it will be of a chart that shows the two choices described above. If you’d like a copy, email me, terria.flint@gmail.com, and I’ll send it to you. You’ll love it! I’d also appreciate feedback on these messages. What should I continue? What should I start? Anything I should stop doing?