Giving the lie to failure as a learning experience

I've always been bothered by the truism that we learn more when we fail than when we succeed. Is anyone else bothered by this?

The saying may be objectively true - we probably don't reflect as much upon our successes as we do upon our failures. We rest on our laurels. But platitude is repeated so often, and in so many forms, that it is really more than a descriptive statement - it becomes advice.

First, I should state that I do think the statement has some value - just that it is phrased poorly, and causes us to focus on the wrong thing. Here's what I think is valuable about it:

• It encourages us to get out of a rut and try new ventures. Most of us could probably benefit from this advice.
• It may salve the wounds of failure. (Think Aesop's story about sour grapes.)
  

But I think it fails by focusing on the failure as the cause of learning. The failure doesn't provide the learning opportunity; it's the new venture that provides that opportunity, whether we fail or succeed. It may be a fact that failure is more likely to cause us to consider why we failed, but the cliche in its normal form doesn't capture this idea. Instead, we should be saying something like "Upon success, reflect!"

The expression starts off right by getting us out of our comfort zones, but misdirects us once we're trying new things by suggesting that success is somehow counterbalanced by the loss of learning we'll experience if we manage to pull off our new venture. When you try something new, focus on succeeding. Believe me, you'll learn lots. Some of my best learning has been when I've tried for a goal I thought was out of my reach, and unexpectedly achieved it.

The saying's salving property is a double-edged sword, as well, as it can provide justification for failure that doesn't actually create a learning opportunity. You won't learn much or anything if you fail without leaving your rut. In the past I've taken on projects I knew I didn't have the resources or time to complete. I knew all along that I couldn't really complete the projects, because I knew I wasn't doing the things I needed to do for success. Guess what? I was right, and I didn't learn anything. The key isn't failing; it's trying something new, and working hard to make it a success.

We may fail more when we try new things because we're out of our depth, but it's a mistake to praise failure. I once heard an executive give the advice, "Fail fast." His idea was to encourage people to try lots of new things, many of which would fail. His idea is a creative repackaging of the original, but I don't think it solves the problem. I'd like to encourage you with my own advice: Fail smart. Succeed smart. And try new things.

Sayings often only catch on if they're catchy and memorable. What are your ideas for replacements for this worn-out expression?