The Concept of Failure: Applicable to the Mindset of a College Student?

We commonly hear the phrase, "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again." We are reminded of people who achieved greatness like Abraham Lincoln, who failed several times before becoming President, and Milton Hershey, the U.S. pioneer of chocolate who went bankrupt three times before he became a millionaire (I had to know the history of Milton Hershey when I worked at the Hotel Hershey, so that's why I know that). The point is, we are taught all throughout grade school and into high school that failure is not a bad thing, and it can teach us how to gain character while learning from mistakes. An interesting point was brought up today in class about failure; someone asked "With the stress on getting good grades, how are we supposed to allow ourselves to fail?"

Although we say that it's important to fail in order to learn from our mistakes to achieve later in life, I think it's important to know why we failed. If we understand the mistakes we made, we can learn and then achieve. However, I understand why the student would make the point about not being able to fail because of worrying about grades. Having that 4.0 GPA is what everyone desires but can be nearly impossible to achieve. Literally one "mistake" or "failure" can prevent a student's near perfect work from showing. Although grades are important when an employer is looking to hire, the knowledge we gain, whether we fail or not, should be what is stressed in school. Perhaps getting that "A" grade shouldn't be defined as having the perfect paper or test. While it is difficult to get into a different mindset about grades, we should focus on our knowledge and less on our GPAs.