Science Demonstrates that What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Scientists at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management have established a causal relationship between failure and future success, proving German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's adage that "what does not kill me makes me stronger."
The researchers utilized advanced analytics to assess the relationship between professional failure and success for young scientists. They found, in contrast to their initial expectations, that failure early in one's career leads to greater success in the long term for those who try again.
"The attrition rate does increase for those who fail early in their careers," lead author Yang Wang said. "But those who stick it out, on average, perform much better in the long term, suggesting that if it doesn't kill you, it really does make you stronger."
The study, "Early-career setback and future career impact," will be published Oct. 1, in Nature Communications[*].
The findings provide a counter-narrative to the Matthew Effect, which posits a "rich get richer" theory that success begets more success.
"It turns out that, historically, while we have been relatively successful in pinpointing the benefits of success, we have failed to understand the impact of failure," said Dashun Wang, corresponding author and associate professor of management and organizations at Kellogg.
[...]The research does not contradict the Matthew Effect, but rather suggests a complementary path for those who fail.
"There is value in failure," Dashun Wang said. "We have just begun expanding this research into a broader domain and are seeing promising signals of similar effects in other fields."
[*] Nature Communications Open Access Link: Early-career setback and future career impact.
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