Failing is not always something bad
In this post, I want to talk about the importance of recognizing that, sometimes, we are wrong and how this can be very helpful to us. We must keep an open mind despite being completely sure of our knowledge because this can limit our ability to learn even more. Perhaps you have a mistaken idea and are not aware of it due to your confidence in that idea or knowledge, and because of this, you would be avoiding learning something new.
Why is it so difficult to accept when we are wrong? 🤔
There is a very deep belief in our culture as humans, where we think that success means never failing. However, this makes no sense because all of us make mistakes at some point, and failure is part of the path to success.
Types of failure
There are three different types of failures, but only one of them is what we refer to when we talk about failure that is part of the path to success.
The types of failure are the next ones:
- Basic failure
- Complex failure
- Intelligent failure âš¡
Basic failure
It is some mistake we make in a known territory or in an area of our expertise, where a simple error can lead us to failure. Sometimes this failure is small, and other times it is enormous.
Complex failure
It is a failure that is not simple but is due to multiple reasons or errors that lead to this failure, like a chain of errors leading to the failure.
Intelligent failure ✅
This type of failure is the most important and the one I want to emphasize in this post. It is the type of failure we are seeking, where new knowledge and discovery arise. This type of failure is an essential part of experimentation, and there are four criteria to consider a failure as intelligent.
Criteria for intelligent failure ðŸ§
- It is in a territory you do not dominate.
- It is pursuing a goal.
- It is guided by prior research.
- It is small enough to avoid significant consequences and large enough to acquire new knowledge.
How to have more intelligent failures? 🤔
If you want to have more intelligent failures in your life, you need to think like a scientist. Scientists test and experiment, and if something goes wrong, they know they are getting closer to their main goal.
You should ask yourself the following question:
What should I try now?
It is normal to want to avoid failure, but when we avoid failing, we are also avoiding discovering and achieving new things. The only way to succeed in anything worthwhile is to be willing to experiment and try new things.