I first came across this question – Why is it that people never learn – while reading the opening chapter of Shogun, the popular bestseller by James Clavell. If you are looking to be entertained by a rip roaring adventure while being exposed to Japanese culture that this is a book you will want to read.
This sentence – why don’t people learn – stuck with me and now years after having read the book I have the answer. This should be of use to slow learners, people in important posts who cannot afford mistakes and everyone who wants to learn how to think straight.
The answer to the question is – It is difficult to think straight and introspect and admit your errors to yourself. It is painful. It is much easier to tell lies to yourself and carry on. And the longer and more you lie to yourself the more difficult it gets to face facts and learn.
And the way to introspect is the same as the method I used to cure myself of a mental illness when I was young. It is explained in the article below:
Basically it consists of mindful awareness of the difficult memory (of the incident wherein you made an error). Do not think or make excuses or try to justify your actions to yourself. Just witness the memory while steadying yourself with the breath. Label it in one of three ways – pleasant, unpleasant and neutral. The unpleasant feelings will pass away in due course and you will have learned from your mistake.
It is a simple enough technique but why is it then so difficult to learn? Why don’t most people learn?
The answer is that firstly people do not know what I have told you just now. And secondly it is difficult and unpleasant to face up to the fact that you have made an ass of yourself.
Finding out what is true is not difficult. Most times it is just two or three steps in the chain of reasoning, not more. It is admitting to yourself that you persisted in your blunder for years and years that is difficult.
And it takes a good amount of determination and toughness to do what I have just described.
Also most people are not very intellectual and do not give much importance to clear thinking. So this is a third reason why people are slow learners.
All this means that if you do what this blog recommends you have a good chance of standing out in your career and also better able to deal with stresses and strains in your family and social life. You will have a smoother and more successful life.
I had written two blogs about this subject in 2020. But this is a very important topic and I think it will be useful to you to revise the lesson. The links to my blogs are below
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