We’ve all heard the refrain “we learn from our mistakes” and I’m calling bullshit on that bullshit.

Mistakes don’t teach. If they did, this world would be entirely different from the one we’re living in now. If mistakes could teach, misfortune would not be the continuing feature of our existence after hundreds of thousands of years of human experience. As it is, we are just as dysfunctional now as ever. It’s bizarre that after countless generations of this ongoing failure, mistakes are still getting credit as a teaching device. It’s time for a new pedagogy.

It’s humility that teaches us; the humbleness to admit we made a mistake and the courage to own it and dedicating ourselves to not repeating it. All of which requires sincere self-reflection and honesty. I’ve known too many people whose lives are a continuing dumpster fire because their mistakes haven’t taught them a damn thing. Why is that? In most cases it’s because of pride. Until we stop fetishizing pride and all its variants and humility becomes the default human mindset, mistakes will never teach us a damn thing.