Learning Curve

How do we think we learn to do something, over time? Sometimes it is instant and we know how to do it and at other times we try again and again and sometimes succeed and sometimes fail.

Learning is 3 steps forward and 2 back, or 3 forward and 3 back so need to start over. Or it feels that way.

How we look at learning and the metaphors we use to support ourselves in learning are very important.

When we fail to do as well as we hope, we can feel bad and give up on ourselves, give ourselves a severe talking to, tell ourselves we will never learn, that we are hopeless that trying is too much trouble. So we start again, maybe.

What is the reality? In the past when we learned to write, use a keyboard, walk, run, drive a car, eat with knife and fork, dance formally were we as good at our first attempt as we are now. I doubt it, but we persevered, and now it is like falling off a log.

We tell ourselves we are back at square one and we have a big job to get back to where we were yesterday or this morning. But if we use failure to wonder what was different in the case of failure and success and learn from each and adjust our behaviour earlier – and again it won’t be perfect, but we keep at it then our attitude has improved immeasurably.

George Soros one of the richest traders in the world has a 85% failure rate in his trades but the magnitude of the few successful trades overwhelms the losses on the losers. He expects to lose.
If he didn’t learn from his failures he would be the loser.