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Extract from the Letter
I hope that you, too, will discover, as I did, that failure is not about not succeeding. Rather, it is about not putting in your best effort and not contributing, however modestly, to the common good.
Summary in Bullet Points
- Kurien gives Siddharth an unusual definition of failure.
- For him, failing to achieve a result is not automatically failure.
- Real failure is refusing to give your best effort or refusing to contribute at all.
- Even a small contribution matters if it is sincere and useful.
Board Pattern
Questions Mapped to Exam Format
Short Answer
2 marks
What does Kurien consider real failure?
2 Marks
How to answer:
Do not define failure simply as not winning.
View Answer
Answer: He considers failure to be not giving one’s best effort and not making even a modest contribution to the common good.
Longer Short Answer
3 marks
How is Kurien’s definition of failure different from the usual result-based definition?
3 Marks
How to answer:
Compare outcome with effort and contribution.
View Answer
Answer: A result-based definition calls a person a failure when the desired result is not achieved. Kurien focuses instead on effort and contribution. A person may not succeed in the usual sense and still not have failed if he or she worked sincerely and contributed.
