If learning, unlearning, and relearning is the skill of the century, failure is the most underestimated free asset to succeed in the current world. Culturally, we are set up to “keep our eyes on the prize” and neglect the journey and time required to reach somewhere. Then we forget the principles behind nature and science. There is no way to harvest the fruit without sowing the seed and cultivating them till they mature. Behind the scenes of scientific discoveries, there are endless unsuccessful experiments. This hurting part does not attract “likes” from the social media followers, though.
It reminds me of an interview with the author of Principles: Life and Work. He said something that stands out to me.
“Write your learning”
Ray Dalio
For Dalio, mistakes are the most valuable experience for learning. By doing them over and over again, and reflecting on them, you change your whole perspective. But, look! It all comes down to using the error to extract some knowledge that will improve our odds on the next try. Because there is no room for wisdom if we just repeat the mistakes without being mindful about what can be done to correct the problems.
By denying the importance of failing, we get angry when something goes wrong. We feel frustrated when our plans do not turn out as we want. However, plans essentially are hypotheses based on our knowledge about how things work. But the reality is much more complex and resourceful than our limited mind can imagine. It does not fit into the small box and categories we create in advance. The universe has its idiosyncrasies. It is way more abundant than we can expect. That is why reality always surprises us with unanticipated results.
I would like to call you to embrace mistakes as opportunities to improve. Instead of being sad when our approach to solving a challenge does not end up well, we should be proud because we tried. If we carefully think about our mistakes, we are indeed one step closer to our goal each time we fail. All we need is to make sure our senses are open to changing directions if needed.
Acknowledging that our failures are part of the process of learning is liberating. Society tells us that we are going in the wrong direction. Yet, it pays off joining on the projects we believe in. On initiatives, we feel we are meant to be part of. In this way, it is possible to align our life with our purpose.
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