SEtalk: The Hidden Gift of a Near Miss

Who do you think is happier: the silver medallist or the bronze?

大家覺得誰比較開心：銀牌得主，還是銅牌得主？

Most people say silver, which seems perfectly logical.

大部分的人都會說銀牌，這聽起來再合理不過了。

Yet in a famous 1995 study, the bronze medallists looked happier!

但在1995年一項知名的研究中，銅牌得主看起來反而更開心！

Silver means you almost won, and bronze means you nearly got nothing.

銀牌代表差一點就贏了，銅牌則代表差一點就什麼都沒有。

I'd argue that a near miss is worth more than it feels.

我認為，「差一點」的價值其實比感覺上大得多。

Twelve years ago, I applied for my first big research grant.

12年前，我申請了人生第一筆大型研究經費。

I'd spent eight months on the application, and I felt confident.

我為這份申請花了8個月，當時很有信心。

I missed the cut-off by a single point, and I was crushed.

我只差一分沒過門檻，整個人都崩潰了。

What hurt most wasn't the rejection itself, but how close I'd come.

最讓我難過的不是被拒絕本身，而是我曾經離成功那麼近。

For a week, I seriously considered leaving science, and I nearly did.

那一個禮拜，我認真考慮過離開科學界，而且差點就真的走了。

Years later, I found a study that made me rethink that week.

多年後，我讀到一項研究，讓我重新思考那個禮拜。

Researchers at Northwestern looked at young scientists applying for major grants.

Northwestern的研究人員觀察了申請大型研究經費的年輕科學家。

They compared those who'd only just missed out

他們把那些以些微差距落選的人

with those who'd only just made it.

和勉強入選的人做比較。

Understandably, some near misses gave up, and they left science for good.

可以理解，有些差一點入選的人放棄了，從此永遠離開了科學界。

But those who stayed went on to publish more highly cited work

但那些留下來的人，後來發表的高引用論文

than the narrow winners did over the next ten years!

在接下來的10年裡，比勉強入選的人還多！

You might assume the weaker scientists had simply dropped out.

大家可能會以為，只是比較弱的科學家退出了而已。

The researchers suspected that too,

研究人員也這麼懷疑過，

but even when they allowed for it, the gap remained.

但就算把這點考慮進去，差距還是存在。

What doesn't kill you, it seems, may genuinely make you stronger.

看來，「那些殺不死你的，會讓你更強大」，或許真的是這樣。

In 2016, a Princeton professor named Johannes Haushofer did something unusual.

2016年，Princeton一位名叫Johannes Haushofer的教授做了一件不尋常的事。

He published a CV listing every job and award he hadn't got.

他公開了一份履歷，列出所有他沒拿到的工作和獎項。

It went viral, and he joked that it outshone all his actual research!

結果它在網路上爆紅，他還開玩笑說，這比他所有真正的研究都還要紅！

Were more of us to share our failures, we'd feel far less alone.

如果有更多人願意分享自己的失敗，我們就不會覺得那麼孤單了。

We only ever see each other's successes,

我們看到的永遠只有彼此的成功，

so we assume our own setbacks are unusual.

所以總覺得自己的挫折很不尋常。

As for me, I rewrote that application, and I sent it again.

至於我，我重寫了那份申請，又送出了一次。

A year later, it was funded, and it shaped my entire career!

一年後，它通過了補助，也影響了我整個職涯！

The more openly I talk about it, the less it stings.

我越坦然地談它，就越不覺得刺痛。

I now keep my own CV of failures, and it's growing nicely.

現在我也有一份自己的失敗履歷，而且正在穩定成長中。

Next time you fall just short, resist the urge to hide it.

下次大家差一點就成功時，請忍住想把它藏起來的衝動。

Write it down, share it, and ask what it can teach you.

把它寫下來、分享出去，並問問自己能從中學到什麼。

A near miss isn't the end of the story.

差一點成功，並不是故事的結局。

Often, it's the beginning of a better one.

它往往是一個更好的故事的開始。

Thank you.

謝謝大家。