How to overcome your mistakes

譯者: Ng Kai Yuan 審譯者: Adrienne Lin

In a 2019 study, over 400 participants were enlisted to learn

2019年的一項研究中， 招募了超過400人參與學習

a mysterious, invented language.

一門新研發的神秘語言。

Individuals were asked about three pairs of runes—

每個人被考的問題 都關於三對盧恩符文，

for example, which of these two characters represents an animal?

例如，哪兩個文字代表動物？

Then, after a brief break,

隨後會小休片刻，

they were asked about the same rune pairs with questions flipped,

然後問題還是關於相同的符文組， 但是題目會改變，

as in, which of these two runes represents a non-living object?

例如，這兩個符文中 哪個代表一個非生物體？

But this game had a secret—

但這遊戲其實有個秘密：

The subjects’ answers in round one

受試者第一回合中的答案，

determined the runes’ meanings in round two.

決定了第二回合符文的含義。

In the first round,

在第一回合，

participants either had all their answers marked as correct no matter what,

參賽者的回答 無論如何都會被判為全部正確，

or they were forced to fail every question.

或者被判為全部錯誤。

This meant that at the break,

這意味著在剛剛休息時，

every participant had the same amount of information,

每個參與者都獲取相同的訊息量，

and in round two they were playing for real.

遊戲在第二回合才真正開始。

But despite this even playing field,

儘管遊戲環境是公平的，

the successful participants from round one rose to the top of the ranks,

第一回合正確的參賽者 排名還是會排在前面，

while those cast as failures kept, well, failing.

而失敗的參賽者 仍然繼續失敗，排名下滑。

People often describe failure as a teachable moment—

人們經常說失敗就是虛心求教的時候，

a necessary stumble on our way to improvement.

在我們進步的道路上， 絆腳石是必要的。

But learning from our mistakes isn't always easy,

但要從錯誤中學習並不容易，

especially when those failures are demoralizing, overwhelming,

尤其是當這些失敗讓你沮喪，崩潰

or just downright confusing.

或徹底迷茫的時候。

So what exactly prevents us from turning our mistakes into mastery?

那麼，究竟是什麼 阻止我們把錯誤轉化為技能呢？

Perhaps the most obvious hurdle to learning from failure

或許最明顯的阻礙是

is how painful it can be.

從失敗中學習是非常痛苦的。

People generally want to think of themselves as capable and competent,

人們通常會認為 自己是有才能且能幹的，

and experiencing failure threatens that self-image.

而失敗會威脅到這種自我形象。

In a survey following a replication of the rune study,

在符文研究後的一項調查中，

participants in the failure group indicated much lower levels

失敗組的參與者在遊戲後

of self-confidence after participating.

展現出的自信程度很低。

It’s tempting to dismiss this pain as a temporary setback.

即使很想將這痛苦 視為短暫的挫折並忘卻，

But some studies have found that when people feel demoralized or incompetent,

但是有些研究發現 人們感覺沮喪或無能的時候，

their brains often stop processing new information.

他們的大腦通常會停止處理新資訊。

This suggests that if a threat to your self-esteem is large enough,

這表明，如果自尊受到的威脅足夠大，

it can undermine your ability to learn.

可能會削弱你的學習能力。

However, your tolerance for failure also depends on your relationship

但是，承受失敗的強度也取決於

with the task at hand.

你對目前任務的重視程度。

In a study from 2011, researchers surveyed a group of American students

在2011年的一項研究中， 研究人員進行了一項調查，

enrolled in introductory and advanced French courses.

調查對象是一組 報讀入門和進階法語課程的美國學生。

These students completed a questionnaire

這些學生填寫了一份問卷，

asking what kind of teacher they preferred—

内容是他們較喜歡的是哪種老師？

one who emphasized their strengths and successes,

是會強調學生的強項和成就的老師，

or one who highlighted their mistakes and corrected their weaknesses.

還是會指出學生的錯誤 並糾正弱項的老師。

In general, responses showed that while beginner students

回應表明通常剛入門的學生

sought positive reinforcement,

會尋求正面的獎勵，

advanced students were more eager for critical feedback.

但進階學生更渴望批判性的回饋。

Researchers have theorized a handful of explanations for these results.

研究人員為這些結果提出了一些解釋。

Having just started out, beginners are still determining

剛開始，初學者仍在決定 他們是否喜歡學習法語

if they enjoy learning French and if they want to continue studying,

以及是否想繼續學習，

so they might crave praise as a way to stay motivated.

因此對讚美的渴望 是他們保持學習的動力。

On the other hand, the advanced students are already invested,

另一方面，進階的學生 已然投入了大量時間和金錢，

so they may want to improve their skills as efficiently as possible.

所以他們可能想盡量有效地精進技能。

The process of gaining expertise also comes with its fair share of failure,

習得專業知識的過程 也伴隨著大量的失敗，

so the advanced students may have built a higher tolerance for making mistakes.

因此進階的學生可能 已建立起堅定的韌性接受犯錯。

But whether you're an expert or a novice,

但是，無論你是專家還是新手，

it’s usually much more straightforward to learn from your successes

從成功中學習 通常比失敗更簡單直接。

than your failures.

For example, imagine getting your grade back on an exam.

例如，回想你在考試中的得分。

If you aced it, you could reasonably assume you made good choices

如果你考到高分，就可以合理認為 你在學習的時間、學習什麼及學習多少

around when, what, and how much to study,

都做出了對的選擇，

and you can replicate those decisions for the next test.

便可以在下次的測驗中 採取同樣的決策。

But if you failed, it could be for any number of reasons.

但是如果你考不及格， 其原因可能有很多。

Maybe you didn’t study enough,

也許是讀得不夠認真，

maybe you studied the wrong information, or maybe you did everything right

也許你吸收的資訊是錯的， 也可能你做的每一件事都是正確的

and the test covered things you shouldn't have been expected to know.

但是考題出的題目卻超出你的預想。

In cases like this, it’s unclear exactly what went wrong,

在這種情況下， 是沒辦法清楚知道哪裡出問題的，

making it difficult to learn how to improve.

因此很難學習如何改進。

Wanting to learn from our failures is completely natural,

想要從失敗中學習是完全正常的，

and there’s a lot to gain by being resilient

而且透過培養心態上的堅韌 和思維的成長,

and cultivating a growth mindset.

可以獲得很多東西。

But fixating on your failures can make it easy to forget all your successes.

但是過於在意失敗 會使你忽略你所達過的成就。

And building on what you’re doing right can be more effective

比起專注在自己的失誤上， 以做對的事情為基礎繼續進步，

than focusing on what you did wrong.

在學習上會更加有效率哦。