Make New Mistakes To Grow, Learn From Old Mistakes

 ‘Bhaiyya, I’m stuck with my project work,’ said Rahul. ‘I’m going around in circles and not making any progress.’

 ‘Why Rahul?’ asked Rakesh.

‘Don’t know bhaiyya,’ said Rahul. ‘However hard I try there’s no improvement. Maybe I’m not cut out for this.’

‘Bhaiyya,’ said Rinku. ‘Surely there must be a way for Rahul to get out of that rut?’

‘Hmm,’ said Rakesh. ‘I’ll share what my mentor Bala sir used to say. Maybe it will help.’

‘What’s that bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul.

‘Whenever I was stuck, he’d tell me that though I was putting in a lot of effort, I was running in the same place,’ said Rakesh. ‘I was burning up a lot of energy without moving forward.’

‘That’s exactly how I feel,’ said Rahul.

‘Any idea why we do that?’ smiled Rakesh.

‘Because we’re doing something wrong,’ said Rahul.

‘Because we’re scared we might fail if we try something new,’ said Rinku.

‘Right,’ said Rakesh. ‘Bala sir’s mantra for progress is very simple. “Make mistakes, but don’t repeat them. Instead, make new mistakes.”’

‘Bhaiyya?’ said Rahul. ‘How can we make any progress by making so many mistakes?’

 ‘Let me explain,’ laughed Rakesh. ‘To “make mistakes” means that all our learning and growth comes only when we try something new. We learn by trying to walk, cycle, drive etc all of which are new to us. When we try something new, we’re bound make mistakes. So, making mistakes is actually a sign of growth. But there’s a catch. We grow only when we do not repeat the mistake. Only when we stop falling every time we cycle, can we call it progress. If we make the same mistake and keep falling, we’re stuck.’

‘How do I stop repeating my old mistakes bhaiyya?’ asked Rahul.

‘First, by identifying the mistakes you’re repeating,’ said Rakesh. ‘Many of us repeat the same mistakes because we don’t even know we’re making a mistake. Since it’s not easy to identify our own mistakes, it makes immense sense to ask someone who can help in identifying and correcting our mistakes. Most of us don’t do this, and stay stuck.’

‘Makes sense bhaiyya,’ nodded Rinku. ‘But why should we make new mistakes once we’ve corrected the old ones?’

‘Because new mistakes are a sign that you’re learning something new,’ said Rakesh. ‘The mantra for continuous growth in our life is to try new things, constantly, without the fear of making mistakes. Make new mistakes, don’t repeat old mistakes. Simple.’

‘Wow,’ said Rahul. ‘I never thought my growth was linked to making more mistakes. I always thought I should make less mistakes by trying less things. Thanks bhaiyya. To start with I’m going to stop holding my chai cup loosely– I’ve always been spilling chai on myself since I first drank chai. That’s one mistake less.’

Pro Tip: To progress, make mistakes, but don’t repeat them. Make new mistakes to further improve. New mistakes indicate growth, old mistakes indicate stagnation.

 

Exercise:  Ask students to list the mistakes they are making. Then let them divide them into old mistakes and new mistakes. Old mistakes that are being repeated keep them in the same place, while new mistakes are an opportunity to grow. Discuss.