How to Parent Children Not to Fear Failure

A renowned research scientist who had success in several important medical breakthroughs was asked what sets him apart from others. He responded by giving all the credit to his mother who had taught him a very important lesson when he was a very young boy.

He had been trying to take a bottle of milk out of the refrigerator, when he lost his grip and spilled the entire content on the kitchen floor. His mother, instead of scolding him, said, “What a wonderful mess you’ve made! I’ve rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk.”

“Well, the damage is already done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk before we clean it up? You know, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a towel, sponge, or mop. Which do you prefer?” 

After they were finished cleaning up the milk, she said, “What we have here is an unsuccessful experiment in how to carry a big bottle of milk with two tiny hands. Let’s go out in the backyard, fill the bottle with water, and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.” 

The scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t have to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes are just opportunities for learning something new, which after all, is what scientific experiments are all about.

To this research scientist, failure became his friend, coach and teacher. He learned the lesson of failing forward. This was all because his mother valued his development rather than valuing the perfect cleanliness of the house.

The child (relationship) was much more important than the house (perfectionism).

Story Source: The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield (Thanks Uri)

About Michael Trillo:

Michael spent the first eleven years of his life in the Philippines, before he moved with his family to Los Angeles. He graduated from Columbia International University. He was involved in youth ministry for many years before he was sent by his heavenly Father to the marketplace mission field.

Michael currently resides with his wife and children in the beautiful Northwest. He is an avid sports fan, with a special interest in basketball and Jiu Jitsu. He has also competed in the sport of arm wrestling since 1996.

Michael believes that knowledge is a means to an end. The end purpose of life is developing a loving relationship with God and others (Matthew 22:35-40). The result of that end is producing fruit, doing good works, and changing the world. It is an enslaving purpose to pursue knowledge and fruit producing as an end in itself.

His Favorite Verse

“I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19

His Passion

• To intimately know his heavenly Dad—deeper, wider, and more intimately today than he did yesterday (Philippians 3:7-8)
• To know, love, and enjoy his family
• To share the Great News of Jesus Christ with the world (Mark 16:15)
• To expose counterfeit life purposes that unknowingly enslave Christians to a life of stress (Ephesians 5:12), preventing them from truly knowing their God intimately
• To teach the indisputable connection between counterfeit life purposes and stress
• To teach and inspire Christians on how to overcome stress, using sound biblical principles (Romans 12:2) and to guide them to live their true purpose, based on what the Bible teaches (Matthew 22:35-39, 1 John 4:19), which results in the abundant life Jesus promised (John 10:10, 15:5)
• To teach and inspire others to truly receive and believe the heavenly Father’s love (1 John 3:1) and watch them radically be changed . . . permanently (John 15:5)

For more from Michael, visit www.MichaelTrillo.com