What Being Wrong Teaches You

Being correct is nice. Winning is good, too. However, being wrong or failing can be pretty great, too! There’s a lot to be gained by being wrong. You learn more when you fail than you do when you succeed.

Most of us try to avoid being wrong or failing at all costs, but maybe they’re not so bad after all. Imagine how much different you would live your life if you believed that success and failure were both good.

There’s no reason to fear being wrong:

1. Being wrong teaches you what’s wrong. Being wrong doesn’t necessarily teach you what’s right, but it’s a step in the right direction. You learn one more thing that doesn’t work each time you’re wrong. If you’re wrong enough times, what’s right will become obvious.

   * Learn from each mistake.

2. Being wrong teaches you to persevere. Failing provides the opportunity to try again. If you have always been successful, what would you do when you finally failed? You’d be a mess. Perseverance is lacking in the average person. It’s a valuable skill to cultivate

    * Continue toward your objective, even when you feel like quitting.

3. Being wrong teaches you how to improve. You can’t just do the same thing again and expect a better result. You need to improve your approach if you want to increase the odds of being successful. Each failure gives you another chance to do it better the next time.

   * Hone your approach after each failure.

4. Being wrong teaches you to be patient. Success can take a long time in some instances. Patience and perseverance go hand in hand. Developing one will help with the other.

   * Understand that patience is an important part of success. Remind yourself that success is on the way.

5. Being wrong teaches you humility. Being wrong is a good reminder that you’re not infallible. Being wrong can keep your opinion of yourself in check. Self-esteem is great, but when your opinion of yourself outpaces reality too much, problems aren't too far away.

    * Stay grounded. Arrogance can hurt you.

 6. Being wrong teaches you that you can grow. Look back on your old mistakes. It’s easy to see that you’ve come a long way since then. Failure is fertile ground for growth. It isn’t growth in itself, but it provides the possibility of growth. You can become better each time you’re wrong.

    * Become a better and more capable person after each failure.

7. Being wrong teaches you to have “gut instinct”. You can’t have a great gut instinct without experience. And it’s important to have experience with success and failure. Those with great instincts have been right and wrong more than the average person.

    * Be grateful for the times you’re wrong because you’re becoming more experienced and developing your instincts.

 8. Being wrong teaches you that failure isn’t final. When you overcome failure, you realize that failure doesn’t mean a thing. Even a hundred failures aren’t the end of the world. Failure is just a result you didn’t want. It’s like a weed in your garden.

   * Remember that the most successful people have failed far more times than you. Don’t let fear of mistakes hold you back.

Life is much easier if you understand that failing is useful. When you don’t fear failure, it’s easier to try in the first place, and success happens much more regularly. 

Failure has a lot to offer and teaches you much more than success ever will. Take more risks and let others worry about making mistakes. Know that you’ll benefit from any successes and failures that you experience.

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