Smart People Learn From The Mistakes Others Make

What is learned from mistakes is an almost absolute truth, especially if we are constantly observing and analytical as well as intuitive. That is why they say that, once the teaching of a mistake is acquired, we move away from making it again.

In this sense, it seems slightly easy to observe the failure if we have made it ourselves. But what if the mistakes come from someone else? Life is limited and we have too much time to make mistakes many times. So why not look at the mistakes others make to avoid them? It is no longer just a matter of time, it is that by doing this we will also avoid suffering the negative consequences of the error.

Mistake you don’t learn from, a mistake that is repeated

From the moment we are born, we begin to realize that failure is a way to succeed in the medium and long term. The first years we continually fail, but in the long run we reap the fruits, with a more intense and lasting flavor, of those failures. When we get older, the consequences are complicated, which does not mean that the procedure is completely invalidated.

These consequences are also linked to the positive side that we can draw from the circumstances. In other words, the mistakes with the most negative consequences are usually also the ones with the greatest transforming power.  In this sense, let’s not forget that the very process of assuming the consequences can also be a great learning, not just the failure itself.

We learn to keep bad experiences together in the drawer labeled “do not repeat.” Fortunately, however, these flawed strategies sometimes slip out of this drawer: just because they haven’t worked in some circumstances doesn’t mean they won’t work in others. Maybe at 18 we are not ready to start our own company, but at 30 maybe we are. along the way we will have gained experience and learned from the successes and mistakes that our bosses have made.

Staying awake is a safety weapon

Someone once said that people grouped ourselves into three large groups: one that assimilates their mistakes, another that, in addition to their own, does it with those of others, and that group that does neither one thing nor the other.

It is good to belong to the second group, mainly because doing so reduces the probability of  falling into a well to check that it is there. Staying awake to what is happening around us is a security weapon to avoid avoidable injuries.

Others teach us about specific events without having to experience them personally. From an outside view, we are able to reach them with empathy and humility, without judging or criticizing. We can also do it sensibly and with caution, even wondering about the possible consequences that could have arisen from the implementation of other options.

There is always something new to learn

But what other reasons are there to notice the behavior of the rest? Perhaps the most important of all is that there is always something new to learn.  In this sense, life is a constant learning opportunity.

An opportunity that is part of the gift of life. In addition, beyond the pleasure that it supposes and that only some have found, it is a pragmatic and intelligent attitude. It may not remove all the thorns from our path, but with it we will locate a few and we can avoid them.

For this reason, it is essential to belong to the group of wise men who take advantage of all the good that life has in store for us. Living as someone who does not pay attention to their mistakes or those of the rest, really is not living in an intelligent way.