Still Learning

If you realize you aren’t so wise today as you thought you were yesterday, you’re wiser today. – Olin Miller

I confess and profess to being a lifelong learner. I am a voracious reader (65 books last year and more than 25 already this year), I scan and read from 50 blogs daily, read interesting articles in 3 online newspapers, listen to 5 or 6 podcasts a week, reflect and write every day. I learn something everyday from a wide array of sources.

But, I have a very hard time learning from my mistakes. I don’t like making mistakes and in an average week I make dozens. Lots of them I have made before. There is some Einstein insanity in not trying a different approach.

Maybe I am blind and deaf to these lessons. Maybe I suffer from delusions of grandeur that has me believing that the outcome will change. Maybe I have a significant case of conformation bias – when something happens that I already agree with, I embrace it but …

Maybe it is a combination of these and other causes but there is a remedy. Scott Berkun’s 2011 post on LifeHacker is worth a read but it seems the path to learning begins simply with “courageously standing up and honestly saying “This is my mistake and I am responsible” the possibilities for learning will move towards you. Admission of a mistake, even if only privately to yourself, makes learning possible by moving the focus away from blame assignment and towards understanding. Wise people admit their mistakes easily. They know progress accelerates when they do.”

As difficult and countercultural as that is I am going to own my mistakes, acknowledge my mistakes, and ask myself/others how I can fix my mistakes.

I will try keep you updated on my progress.