In his book Principles Life and Work, Ray Dalio explains why embracing mistakes are crucial for learning and growth. Most investors often feel bad about them or blame others. This hinders their progress and prevents them from reaching their full potential.
Key points on embracing your mistakes include:
- Mistakes are expected: They are an inevitable part of the learning process and shouldn’t be taken personally.
- They fuel learning: Mistakes provide valuable feedback and opportunities to improve. Feeling bad about them blocks this learning.
- Short-sighted thinking: People focus on the immediate negative outcome instead of the long-term educational value.
- Love your mistakes: Learn from them like Michael Jordan, who used mistakes to become the greatest basketball player.
- Ego vs. learning: Our ego often prevents us from admitting and learning from mistakes.
- School system reinforces negativity: School often emphasizes right answers and punishes mistakes, discouraging mistake-based learning.
- Openness to weaknesses: The most successful people are open to recognizing and learning from their weaknesses.
Here’s an excerpt from the book:
… 10) Do not feel bad about your mistakes or those of others. Love them! Remember that
1) they are to be expected,
2) they’re the first and most essential part of the learning process, and
3) feeling bad about them will prevent you from getting better.
People typically feel bad about mistakes because they think in a short-sighted way that mistakes reflect their badness or because they’re worried about being punished (or not being rewarded).
People also tend to get angry at those who make mistakes because in a short-sighted way they focus on the bad outcome rather than the educational, evolutionary process they’re a part of. That’s a real tragedy.
I once had a ski instructor who had taught Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player of all time, how to ski. He explained that Jordan enjoyed his mistakes and got the most out of them.
At the start of high school, Jordan was an unimpressive basketball player; he became a champion because he loved using his mistakes to improve.
Yet despite Jordan’s example and the example of countless other successful people, it is far more common for people to allow ego to stand in the way of learning.
Perhaps it’s because school learning overemphasizes the value of having the right answers and punishes wrong
answers. Good school learners are often bad mistake-based learners because they are bothered by their mistakes.
I particularly see this problem in recent graduates from the best colleges, who frequently shy away from exploring their own weaknesses.
Remember that intelligent people who are open to recognizing and learning from their weaknesses substantially
outperform people with the same abilities who aren’t similarly open.
You can find a copy of the book here:
Ray Dalio – Principles Life and Work
For all the latest news and podcasts, join our free newsletter here.
Don’t forget to check out our FREE Large Cap 1000 – Stock Screener, here at The Acquirer’s Multiple:
