Learning From Other People’s Mistakes

When it comes to anything new, the natural human course of learning can be summed up as “trial and error.” We come upon a hurdle, make a decision based on our past experiences and think about the best way to jump.

Sometimes, if not most, we fail to choose the optimum solution to a given problem. At other times, we attempt the same solution over and over and yet we still fall short of the glory that is success. Albert Einstein knew about this and gave it his own definition: “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” But wouldn’t the world be a far better place if we were to learn from everyone else’s mistakes collectively? Of course! Unfortunately, as a whole, we don’t work that way but on an individual level we really can benefit from this type of learning.

That’s right– let other people make the mistakes, so you don’t have to.

The best way to go about doing just that is to choose someone who has already made the types of mistakes that you’re trying to avoid. Chances are, that person is going to have figured out the best way around the initial failure and they will have learned a valuable lesson. I say valuable because it’s not only valuable to that person but to you as well. Conversely, be careful not to take advice from people who have made the mistakes and aren’t succeeding the way you’d like to.

Sometimes it can be difficult to determine which advice is actually good advice in practice, not just in theory. Face it, anyone can give you advice that sounds good but the question is- does it work in the real world? This is primarily why you should seek advice from those who have success in the subject in question.

As an example, before I married my wife, her friend would continually give her advice about getting married. She would tell her things like “it’s too soon” or “you haven’t dated enough” or “you should have sex with more people before you settle down.” Now, had her friend actually been married at all, I would have given her statements some salt despite my position in the relationship. Yet, the fact was that she wasn’t very good at relationships herself at the time. This is why it would infuriate me each time she would try and fill my then-girlfriend’s mind with these crazy notions. I would say to my wife “if you want good advice, talk to people who are happily married.” Wise words, if I do say so myself. Doesn’t that just make more sense?

Of course, you shouldn’t always rely on other people’s advice.

Although it does sometimes avoid a lot of wasted time, you should never be afraid to make your own mistakes. Failures will come and go and they are a very natural part of success. Never discount the value of figuring out how you succeed at things and fail at others. For instance, if you want to make a lot of money, what advice would you give to yourself? Wouldn’t you tell yourself to figure out what has made you money in the past and to also figure out what has lost you money in the past? Of course you would, because you are an intelligent thinker. Just think about it– if you figure out what loses you money, stop doing that! If you figure out what makes you money, do that and multiply it if you can!

The same rule goes for anything you can think of: marriage, work, buying things, mowing the lawn, owning pets, raising kids, or anything! Again- figure out what benefits you positively, do it in multitude; figure out what brings about negative consequence and cut it out! And if you don’t have the experience, find a successful mentor and learn from their mistakes! Just think about it. How long does it really take and what could it possibly hurt to ask someone a few questions that could avoid you a lot of negative consequences and pain? Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty? Trust me, it’s worth it.

And if you don’t like people, read a book!

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