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RE: Silver of the Day #28
You're right that there's a difference between doing something wrong because you don't know or haven't done it before, and knowing better and still doing it wrong.
Learning mistakes are things that can help us grow as people if we'll look at them as growth opportunities. If we get too focused on not doing anything wrong, then we'll clam up and not evolve or grow.
"Anything made out of silver, regardless of when it was made, is still made out of silver."
—glenalbrethsen
Wise man right there!
Yeah. It took a while for me to learn that lesson when I was younger. It probably wasn't until well into high school that I started realizing I couldn't really get anywhere without making mistakes and learning from them, and then it took off in earnest when I was on my mission. You don't learn a foreign language without making a lot of mistakes. Nor do you end up in a different culture (Latino) without some slip ups.
Anyway, while I still like to keep mistakes to a minimum, they're helpful in gauging how I'm really doing. If I can manage to do things efficiently and well, then maybe I'm getting somewhere. If I'm doing neither, there's probably more to work on.
Recently while going back to school, I was a totally different person. I was asking questions, making statements, basically doing what I could in class to get what additional knowledge I could other than the text books. There are plenty of times where the theory of the classroom and the practical application of it needs some kind of bridge, and that bridge is generally defined as experience.
When you're young, it's easier to care more what people think about you. That can keep you from asking questions and getting answers you want. When you're older/when you don't care what people think and you focus on your goals without fears of people not liking you... normally you're able to be more at peace, and you get where you want to go while making fewer mistakes. Good for you for asking questions and taking advantage of the opportunities you had.
Funny thing is, I think the only one who expected I know all the answers back then was me. It's unfortunate that we all think that everyone is looking at us when in reality, they're thinking, I hope the teacher doesn't call on me. We're all caught up in our own securities while we try to fake we're okay.
I guess some adults still do that, but life's too short to fake things.
It was fun asking questions and throwing stuff out there. I was old enough I could have intimidated some of my professors. They seemed to roll with though. :)
I learned quickly that the best way to avoid looking stupid in class was to answer one of the first questions that you knew. If you had already answered a question, then the teacher likely wouldn't call on you. Makes it nice for when there are questions that you don't know the answer to. Ha ha