Anti-Fragile Spirit: Setbacks as Discovery Mechanism

"Being anti-fragile does not mean being resilient – rather, it means positively benefitting from shocks, setbacks, risks and uncertainty. To innovate, he says, first get into trouble. Setbacks are a discovery mechanism; they also release excess energy, motivation and willpower. Exposure to failure is essential for success; we need ‘the light of experience gained by disaster’.11 Through imagination, courage and action, it is possible to get, in his wonderful phrase, ‘the better half of luck’.12 This eloquently describes the actions of our players to a tee. It is not clear, however, that this attitude to risk, setbacks and disaster is the natural property of humans. Rather, it seems that resilience is the most that the great majority of people expect of themselves – the ability to withstand failures, not the ability to seek them out and triumph from them."

"It is not that they wanted, either consciously or unconsciously, to experience huge problems. Instead, they took risks which ordinary people tend not to take, and they were able to benefit from setbacks which would have knocked most people for six. They had the anti-fragile spirit. They were and are buccaneers, pirates and explorers, with a highly developed sense of their own potential and with strong anti-conventional opinions – they exhibit not just a strong ego, but also an ability to confront and confound adversity, with a curiosity about themselves and the world and a degree of stoicism which sets them apart from people who are merely big-headed and oblivious to risk and randomness. Our players sought out risks, knowing that they were risks, aware that they were swimming against the tide, confident that they could win, but aware of the possibility of failure and able not just to cope with it, but to find a way around it. They had and have the courage to benefit from adversity."

"There is a template for turning repeated reverses, eventually, into supreme triumph: •  Take big risks. •  Do not be dismayed if they don’t work out. •  After a disaster, keep going, but switch gears. •  Reframe the disaster – deny that the failure was inevitable or your fault – ‘it was always high risk so it’s not surprising it failed’. •  Unless you keep your original objective, immerse yourself in something different. •  Setbacks give feedback. You need reverses, and are going to get them anyway. Use them to make you stronger, more robust to future failure, and to gain new experiences. The disasters also make the eventual triumph sweeter. •  Never give up hope. You can’t know the future, but you must trust it. Remain fulfilled and coolly confident; jump when the big break beckons. •  Feed an intense sense of personal drama. What you will achieve matters, not just personally, but to the world. •  Expect catastrophes to be followed by great rejoicing, all the greater for what went before. A novel or movie that ends in failure, failure, failure, failure, failure … ultimate failure – is not a very good story. Reject the script – improve it, transcend it. It can be done. It must be done. The audience expects it. Thrive on setbacks. It is a way of thinking, a philosophy of life, and a self-conceit essential for unreasonable success."

"Paradoxically, setbacks can validate unconventional views and contribute to a sense of greatness. If you follow the herd, you are unremarkable. If you are controversial, you are noticed. Setbacks happen more frequently to people who take large risks. Risk-takers defy the majority view – that is why it is a risk. Risks have high downsides, but high upsides. And if we can survive defeats – not just through inbuilt resilience, but also because defeats give us feedback and validation – and continue to take high risks, we preserve the possibility of remarkable future success."