Prof. VGT on how to avoid repeating your mistakes.
All of us make mistakes whether at work or in life and experience the pain, disappointments, embarrassment, or the sense of loss they bring. Although we vow to learn from our mistakes, much of the time, we find ourselves making more mistakes or repeating the same ones. We may generalize that human beings are fallible and wish we knew how to avoid repeating errors. But surprisingly, there are simple ways to do this if only we try.
Some of us are prone to believing that we keep making the same mistakes because of a personality flaw. This is used to explain the behaviour or the reason we cannot get over the habit. It is attributed to character, and we stereotype ourselves or others as careless, rash, or selfish. We often get trapped in these personality definitions and find it difficult to get rid of them. Some adopt a defeatist attitude and claim that they cannot get over their flaws because of their fate, bad luck or a personality fault. Those successful in getting over and learning from their mistakes accept responsibility for them and make efforts to change and give the credit to themselves when they succeed.
The secret behind this is to realize the specific behaviour that is triggered in specific situations which causes one to make mistakes. If one can identify the conditions or the behaviour, then one can watch out for them and take maximum precautions to avoid repeating the mistake.
Believing that our action was totally reasonable prevents any learning from the mistake.
– Prof. VGT
This requires consistent and careful effort. Some of the common conditions of or behaviour include:
SELF-JUSTIFICATION: When a mistake happens, some of us, instead of accepting it or trying to find out the reasons, justify it by saying it is not our fault or the conditions were beyond our control and that an error was bound to occur. We even justify our actions as the best way the situation could have been handled. This kind of justification blocks our thinking on better lines. We could have dealt with the situation or been receptive to alternative ideas from others. Believing that our action was totally reasonable prevents any learning from the mistake.
BLAME GAME: Some of us tend to play the blame game and shift the responsibility of the mistake to others and claim it was none of our fault. We find it easy to shift the blame without realizing that others can do the same to us. Instead, we should assess how far we are to blame for the mistake.
HASTY DECISIONS: Mistakes often occur due to the tendency to rush things and the need to conform to a culture that appreciates speed. It does not consider the necessity to follow certain steps while making a decision. This hampers efforts to reach the correct decision, which is necessary to avoid mistakes. So, concentrated and careful thinking is a must to take correct decisions.
MIXING UP EMOTIONS WITH RATIONALITY: Giving more priority to your emotional disposition, impulses and intuition even when making decisions that require rational thinking, leads to mistakes. One has to know when to use these points of view – rational and emotional – based on the kind to decision to be made.
The problem has to be considered in the right perspective to find the right solution.
– Prof. VGT
GENERALISATION: Situations or problems are over-generalized or simplified, which makes it difficult to arrive at the right solution. This should be avoided, and the problem has to be considered in the right perspective to find the right solution.
NEED TO FIT IN: Most of us make decisions going by the norm even if reasoning tells us it might not be the right thing to do. This need to conform comes from the fear of being isolated if we think or act differently. This makes us take decisions that are acceptable to others even if we feel they’re not right.
These triggers that cause us to make mistakes can be overcome or modified with effort, awareness and self- discipline. Giving in to them can prevent us from learning from our mistakes and worse, cause us to repeat them. Getting over these triggers can help us reduce mistakes and help us in our endeavour to become better, as both persons and professionals.
