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> If you're anything like me, you don't like making mistakes. You want everything to go perfectly, the very first time. This mindset is generally helpful in lif

> If you're anything like me, you don't like making mistakes. You want everything to go perfectly, the very first time. This mindset is generally helpful in life... I'd say that it's normal to feel that way but that it's directly detrimental to learning. If you want to learn something outside your comfort zone you must first learn to recognize, identify and embrace the fact that you are outside your comfort zone. Wanting things not to go catastrophically wrong is one thing but not letting yourself play, experiment, or even try, because you want everything to go perfectly the very first time, is probably one of the most unhelpful things in all of life.

m0zg 5y ago
> This mindset is generally helpful in life... I don't think that's actually true. I mean, obviously, I'd _like_ things to go perfectly the first time I try, but I'm resigned to the idea that they most likely will not, and that in fact they might _never_ go perfectly. Playing the guitar taught me that. :-) So I don't stress about failure too much, and encourage my son to start small and fail from time to time. The opposite of what Homer Simpson's advice where he said: "You tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is, never try."
- tofflos 5y ago
  Yeah, also it might be poorly expressed of me to say that the desire for things to go perfectly is the thing that is holding people back. Maybe it's better expressed as the fear of looking bad in front of others (and often even to ourselves).