I Want To Make 10,000 Mistakes

We all fear mistakes. I blame our parents for putting so much effort into forcing us to make the right choices all the time. "To err is human", and we as humans have come a long way by learning from our own mistakes. So, if by erring we are improving ourselves, is it smart to keep avoiding making mistakes like the plague?

Back in the 90's I used to have a boss who will always praise me because she said that while everyone else in the company took ages to make decisions I would just have things done. And it's not that I am impulsive (ok, maybe just a bit) but when faced with a decision I always consider the worst-case scenario and if it's not that bad then I just jump and do what I have to do. She would tell me that she didn't care if I made mistakes or not, for her it was far more important to have decisive people in her team who weren't afraid to err.

In 'A Farewell To Arms', Ernest Hemingway wrote: "The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places", meaning that we are stronger in the places where we have been broken. Only by making mistakes are we able to learn and grow. It doesn't matter how many business books you read, how many marketing blogs you follow or how many tutorials you watch online. You won't learn from them until you start practicing what you have been taught and start making mistakes.

Thomas Edison allegedly said: “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” How many ways that won't work have you found so far?

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