Dealing with disapointments

[Foster]

Reddit posting on Franklin High Robotics. Reddit is a news aggregater that has a very large user base. Stories that are high scoring on Reddit are often picked up by the major news sources. So there may be some national attention paid to the value of robotics and the plight of the Franklin High Program.

[rutzman]

Originally Posted by Foster

Reddit posting on Franklin High Robotics. Reddit is a news aggregater that has a very large user base. Stories that are high scoring on Reddit are often picked up by the major news sources. So there may be some national attention paid to the value of robotics and the plight of the Franklin High Program.

Adam Savage and Grant Imahara have both posted the article on Twitter in the past half hour. Whether more mainstream national news outlets catch on is yet to be seen, but it's still going to get quite a bit of exposure (They combine for over half a million followers, but I'm sure a lot of those get counted twice because they follow both of them like I do.)

[Trent B]

Originally Posted by Foster

Reddit posting on Franklin High Robotics. Reddit is a news aggregater that has a very large user base. Stories that are high scoring on Reddit are often picked up by the major news sources. So there may be some national attention paid to the value of robotics and the plight of the Franklin High Program.

http://digg.com/news/science/high_sc...eep_it s_cash

Digg likewise is a news aggregator with a large user base, if it is dugg high enough there is a chance it may show up on the Revision 3 show Diggnation which has a weekly audience of 250,000+ viewers.

[MCarron]

First off let me just say that team #11 MORT is one of the most respected teams in FRC history. I know team #343 looks to teams such as yours along with teams like 25, 71, 103, 111, 118, 217, etc as our role models. We see you guys field a competitive robot along with a very solid and dynamic team every year. That in and of itself is a HUGE accomplishement. There have been many teams that have come and gone over the years and yet you guys serve as a cornerstone for our sport.

I know we have had our share of good on field performance and recognition, maybe more than we deserve sometimes, but we have also felt the same level of dissapointment as you have. Not being picked when you think you have a great machine is as much about the pride of the machine as it is seeing the dissapointment of the students.

What I have always preached to our team is that FIRST is a family. We all work together to achieve a higher goal. Our small contribution is just a single cog in the machine. We have so many friends in FIRST that there is always somebody who you can go root for. Teams that we have mentored, friendly teams that we have met, people we have been to "battle" with, they all allow us to live vicariously through them for that particular event should we not be fortunate enough to play.

Not being picked is an unfortuante microcosm of life. It's a good experience for these young people to deal with. Being gracious when things don't go as planned is the most valuable lesson in life. How you deal with that dictates how successful you will be in the future. Successful people use setbacks as fuel to drive them to the next level. As a mentor use this opportunity to teach them what to do next.

Just my $.02 worth, hope it wasn't too wordy. Keep the faith my friend you and your team are awesome!

Mike Carron
Team 343 Leadership

[JoeyPass]

We only become dissapointed if we are attached to the outcome of something. The trick is to simply appreciate where you are or what you have done. It's called being in the moment. Most people would love to have the memories of being on Archimedies field in any capacity. There's an old saying; "Things could always be worse." Just remember that and you might just see what good fortune we all have.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Holy Thread Bump Batman! [Insert onomatopoeic word appropriate for action]

Either way, I guess it is just as well to bring this up now. Does anyone have any other good ways of coping with disappointments? There are already some great pieces of advice but I am sure there is more out there.

PS: Anyone know how hard it is to look up that onomatopoeia word when you have NO idea how it is spelled?

[Rion Atkinson]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

PS: Anyone know how hard it is to look up that onomatopoeia word when you have NO idea how it is spelled?

To repeat what I have heard my entire life. "Sound it out!"

Honestly I can't help you

On the disapointment note. I get disapointed alot. I finally learned to deal with it simple by stepping back and looking at the whole picture from an unbias point of view. This was my team second year. We were the 16th team picked going into quarters. We lost both matches. While most of the team was sad I was able to holdbit together. These two thoughts kept me together.

1. We were picked!!
2. Our frist year we got dead last out of 48 teams(I think..). To jump from dead last to 16th after seeding in one year was winning enough for me.

Basically what I am saying is bad things happen. But in ever bad thing thereia a lesson to learn. I advise you to step back and search for it. When you find it you will not only find yourself growing. But those who you influence with what you have learned.

My $.02 (of course, being 16 means it counts more like $.01..)

-Rion

[rsisk]

PS: Anyone know how hard it is to look up that onomatopoeia word when you have NO idea how it is spelled?

... Sound it out? yuk, yuk

My wife and I were talking about this, as always she had good advice built from experience.

When we came in way low on the totem pole last year, Dona basically went through the good things that happened during the year with the students, going over them one at a time, looking for input from the team. Then after some of this exercise she asks them if they would do it all over again. They all end up saying yes.

[Chris is me]

"It doesn't matter that you failed, it just means you have to do it again!"

After Atlanta, I went to IRI. I figured if I didn't do well enough to seed there, I should prove my worth at something tougher. When 1714 (surprise) didn't make elims there... well, next year there's a whole host of things to do better.

I don't know what advice to tell you if it's your last year in FIRST though

[Vikesrock]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I don't know what advice to tell you if it's your last year in FIRST though

The lessons learned from disappointments in FIRST don't stop at robots. If it is your senior year and you don't plan on mentoring any time in the future then you have to focus on how you can apply the lessons you learned to your other activities.

If you do think you might be mentoring in the future then you can record the lessons to review before your next season. Even if you take a year off from FIRST before coming back as a mentor, or even all four to finish up school, these recorded thoughts should still be applicable and helpful to the students on your new team.

[rsisk]

I don't know what advice to tell you if it's your last year in FIRST though

What is this last year in FIRST that you speak of???? I don't understand

I think mentors and team leaders experience disappointments like the students do. Maybe we handle it differently, try to keep a positive attitude in front of the team, etc.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I don't know what advice to tell you if it's your last year in FIRST though

No one should have a last year in FIRST.

I would tell them to mentor a team and help them succeed by either "winning big" or even just helping them learnmore is success in FIRST!

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by BrendanB

No one should have a last year in FIRST.

I would tell them to mentor a team and help them succeed by either "winning big" or even just helping them learnmore is success in FIRST!

Haha, even though this is a little funny, there's plenty of people who let FIRST burn out in themselves. I'm not totally sure if I want to continue myself. Its a tough choice, and even tougher to maintain I would imagine, but there are definitely those who leave it all behind.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

Haha, even though this is a little funny, there's plenty of people who let FIRST burn out in themselves. I'm not totally sure if I want to continue myself. Its a tough choice, and even tougher to maintain I would imagine, but there are definitely those who leave it all behind.

I want to continue in FIRST somehow, but definitely not as involved as I am right now. Not wise to burn out in college, focus on your edumakatione.

[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

I don't know what advice to tell you if it's your last year in FIRST though

The lessons of FIRST are for more than just FIRST, theyre for life. Falling short of expectations is something that will happen everyday in your life. By learning to channel those feelings of disappointment into desire you'll see a lot of success in your endeavors.


-Brando