I make mistake after mistake

I often talk about my mistakes, wrong approaches, and lessons learned in my blog posts. Whether it’s making purely result-oriented decisions, juggling too many tasks at once, misunderstanding AI, or delaying investments, I've made plenty of errors. I've also stumbled in more profound areas, like my worldview and understanding of our ability to know things. And let’s not forget my social skills and communication blunders. As you can see, the list is long.

When it comes to dealing with mistakes publicly, I see people generally fall into two camps, with some in between but tending towards one side or the other.

One extreme is the person who tries to appear flawless. When they make a mistake, they look for blame everywhere but themselves and only admit fault when they have no other choice. I know several people like this, both professionally and personally. Honestly, during my teenage years, I was closer to this type. I wrote about this a few years ago.

On the other end is the person who, when faced with a mistake, first asks what they could have done better. They look inward. For example, if a new team member doesn’t meet expectations, the department head might reflect on whether they could have provided better guidance, improved onboarding, or made a better hiring choice. The point of this post could be that now i tend to think more like this.

But there's a third way that resonates with me the most: redefining what we consider a mistake. Martin Kabrhel, a top poker player turned businessman who uses applied mathematics, inspired this perspective.

In short, I see every non-optimal decision as a mistake, regardless of the outcome (Read more about my view on optimal decision-making at: Decision-making, uncertainty and probability). By this standard, most of my decisions are wrong. Because even a decision close to the optimum, with a good result, is a mistake from this point of view. Simply put, I make mistake after mistake.

A simple answer to why this is so: Because the vast majority of my decisions could have been at least a little better. Regardless of their outcome, it is crucial to repeat again. This is the difference from the first two types I wrote about above.

How does this perspective help me? It's not just about having more topics for my blog. Mistakes are a crucial part of our learning process; they accelerate personal growth. I don't think I'm super talented—I know more talented people—but I tackle things with great energy, perseverance, and a critical eye on myself. And that keeps me moving forward.

My logical and overthinking nature contributes to this mindset. I understand this isn’t for everyone, but I found it interesting to show the contrast of someone who openly admits to constant mistakes without fearing it will harm their perceived competence with someone who strives to appear infallible. If you're looking for someone infallible, good luck, I'm not it.

If you have any thoughts, questions, or feedback, feel free to drop me a message at mail@richardgolian.com.