Embrace micro failures

Our brain is an incredible machine that learns through failure. It's goal is to filter the signal from the noise. The signal being the actions that were deemed successful and the noise being the actions that were unsuccessful.

This is how we learn. Whether it is learning to kick a football in the upper right corner of a goal, or how to write complex computer programs—you do it through trial and error.

Yet, as sophisticated humans, we are so averse to trying things we know we will fail at.

Let me ask you a question. Are you good at drawing? It's probable that a lot of you reading this will say "no".

Now show me a person who is not good at drawing, but draws every day, every week, every month and every year. I'm yet to meet that person.

You're not bad at drawing, you just don't want to embrace the thousands of failures that will allow your brain to learn. That's okay. Maybe drawing isn't a priority after all.

But what if it is a priority? What if you do care about being better at a skill. Do find yourself procrastinating and avoid trying because you only want to succeed?

Want to start blogging but don't have the right publishing platform or enough ideas to create just 3 articles?

Want to build your own app but you just haven't found the right idea or not sure what language to write it in?

Want to fall in love, but you just haven't found the person who ticks all your boxes?

This is procrastination. What's really happening is that you're adverse to failure. Maybe that's because it might affect your self esteem. Maybe you're quick to judge that it's not worth it should you not get some measure of success right away.

If this is you. Just remember, you are the product of evolutionary failure. For you to be here right now, evolution had to fail millions of times over and over. Take walking for example. You learned to walk by failing countless times. This is how you succeed.

So take a moment and reflect on what your goals are. Now flip the narrative and consider what failures you are to seek in order to progress. Be honest if you start talking yourself out of trying because conditions aren't right. Embrace the failure. If you're not failing, you're not growing.

Today's 'ah-ha' moment is that in order to be successful learning a new skill or trying new things, you need to be prepared to fail. All around us is evidence of micro failures that help us learn. Failure gives us the feedback loop which we can inspect and adapt.

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