Healthy Thoughts for 5 Healthy Towns: Failing towards Final

by Amy Heydlauff, 5 Healthy Towns CEO

I’ve been thinking about risk, lately. Maybe that’s because 5 Healthy Towns Foundation (5HF) is about to take another big one and not all our big decisions have turned out the way we anticipated, despite our due diligence.

Making important changes in our lives, communities and country is tough. It’s risky. We might fail. And if we do, you can be sure there will be someone ready to point it out. In fact, even before many efforts get off the ground someone (& it might even be ourselves) undermines the energy and intention of our plans.

That’s why I am so fascinated with what happened in Algoma WI.

The entire town has embraced the idea of ‘failing forward’. The schools, local governments, faith community, business, general population … pretty much everyone. When you read their story, you will know they teach their kids to fail forward. And what happened in Algoma? You really must read about them. (https://www. rwjf.org/en/library/features/culture-of-health-prize/2017-winner-algoma-wisconsin.html).

By embracing failure, they are doing amazing things. They are correcting their kids “dream deficit” (their term, not mine). They are serving ‘the least of these’ in their community. They are reducing insurance claims so much that the 9-district consortium their school district belongs to is reaping contractual benefits because of one district.

They aren’t doing amazing things because they are running around saying “Rah, rah! We’re the best!” They are doing amazing things because they are taking risks and celebrating failure. With each failure they learn.

They are teaching their kids lessons that make my heart swell. When they fail, they are as heartbroken as the rest of us would be, I’m sure. But think about this. In Algoma if (when) you fail, you don’t have to be embarrassed, make excuses or pretend. The community pats you on the back & says “At-a-boy. What did you learn? Let’s try it again. What should we do different next time?”

The school and library board; church, student and village council – all are giving themselves permission to try something new, maybe even radical. Giving themselves permission to take chances.

That’s not to say the people of Algoma are throwing caution to the wind. Risk must include a risk-benefit calculation. Due diligence is necessary. All of this and more can be part of what we teach our children. And when we do, they will teach us, as we watch them learn and fail and succeed, knowing they are building a sense of self, pride and empowerment. We can do the same for our institutions and our communities. We must hold them accountable, but we also need to give them a chance to explore, experiment, fail and succeed.

“We don’t always succeed in what we try. Certainly not by the world’s standards. But I think you’ll find it’s the willingness to keep trying that matters most.” Fred Rogers

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.