The beauty of failure and disappointment

Abstract

As English language teachers we experience failure and disappointment on a number of occasions in our professional lives. Whether it is due to our unrealised ambitions or the thwarted expectations of our students, we cannot really avoid experiencing failure and the disappointment that accompanies it. These dispiriting experiences are compounded by the failures and disappointments we go through in our personal lives. Being able to persevere in the face of unfulfilled intentions seems crucial for our emotional, mental and physical health as professionals. As we were reminded by Sarah Mercer’s (2017) plenary at the IATEFL Conference in Glasgow, teacher well-being is not yet widely discussed despite its vital importance. In this article I reflect on the nature of failure and disappointment and on how perseverance might require a shift in perspective.