Smart People Learn From The Mistakes Others Make

The idea that we learn from mistakes is an almost absolute truth, especially if we are always observant and analytical, as well as intuitive, in our lives. That’s why they say that once we acquire the teaching of an error, we try not to repeat it.

In this sense, it seems quite simple to observe the error if we have made it ourselves. But what if the mistakes come from someone else? Life is limited and we don’t have a lot of time to make mistakes very often. So why not look at the mistakes others make and then 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 mistake.

We repeat the mistakes we didn’t learn from

Since we were born, we started to realize that making mistakes is a way to get it right in the medium and long term. In the first years we constantly fail, but little by little we are reaping the fruits of these mistakes, with a more intense and lasting flavor. As we get older the consequences get more complicated, which does not mean that the procedure is totally invalidated.

These consequences are also linked to the positive side we can take from circumstances. That is, the mistakes with the most negative consequences are often the ones with the greatest transformative power. In this sense, let us not forget that the process of taking the consequences can be a great learning experience.

We learned to keep bad experiences together in the drawer that has the “don’t repeat” label. However, these misguided strategies sometimes slip out of that drawer by luck: just because they didn’t work in some circumstances doesn’t mean they don’t work in others. Maybe at 18 we’re not ready to set up our own company, but at 30 maybe we are. Along the way, we will have gathered experience and learned from the successes and mistakes our bosses made.

Keeping an eye out is a safety weapon

Someone once said that people are grouped into three big groups : one that assimilates their mistakes, another that learns from others in addition to their own, and that group that does neither.

It is good to belong to the second group, mainly because it reduces the probability of falling into a well to prove that we are there. Keeping an eye out for what’s happening around us is a safety weapon to avoid avoidable injuries.

Others teach us about real events without the need for us to experience them personally. From an outside perspective, we are able to approach them with empathy and humility, without judging or criticizing. In the same way, we can do it sensibly and cautiously, including imagining the possible consequences that could have arisen from the realization of other options.

There are always new things to learn

But what other reasons are there to look at the behavior of others? Perhaps most important of all is the fact that there is always something new to learn. In this sense, life is an opportunity for constant learning.

An opportunity that is part of the present of life. Furthermore, beyond the pleasure it implies and which only a few have found, it is a pragmatic and intelligent attitude. Maybe it won’t eliminate all the thorns in the way, but with it we’ll locate several and we’ll be able to dodge them.

That is why it is essential to belong to the group of sages who enjoy all the good things that life has prepared for us. Living as someone who does not consider your mistakes or those of others is not living in an intelligent way.