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We all make mistakes and many of these mistakes occur because of the way we think and the way we see the world around us. The book “Why we make mistakes” by Joseph T. Hallman explains exactly why we fail to see the outcomes we desire and also shows strategies to improve and make fewer mistakes.
Please note that this is my personal takeaway from this book and by no means it is a replacement for the original book. There are still tons of useful information you can get from the book itself.
So here are the 8 reasons why you make mistakes.
One Page Summary - Why We Make Mistakes
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1. Our limitation on what we see and what we know
Our 180-degree vision can only give us a limited view of the world around us. This is also true for our psychological view as well. Our brain struggles to handle different ways to look at situations. In addition to this, our field of vision can misjudge situations because of the things that happened out of our field of vision.
2. We disregard other people’s perspective
Our tendency to see only what we expect to see can make us miss key details. We assume that other people think the way we do. But this is far from reality. Every person is different and they have their views. The way you see a situation may look different to another person.
3. Our brain’s urge to look for something meaningful
We struggle to remember random information. If the information does not have a meaning for us, our brain disregards that information. And just because our brain ignores the information, that doesn’t mean it is not important.
For example, we can struggle to remember random numbers (like our phone numbers). But when we give some sort of meaning to those numbers (date of birth, your age, etc) it would be easier to remember.
4. Our urge to make quick decisions
Our mind constantly looks for shortcuts. We are evolved to make quick judgments because of survival, but this can also make us do our biggest mistakes. You see someone shouting, you assume that they are angry, but it might be because they are just loud and that is the way they speak.
So, assess the situation, collect the facts before making snap judgments. Be mindful of your decision and ask yourself why you are making that decision.
5. Our brains’ urge to simply information
We like to simplify complex information and try to rationalize them to help us understand it better. For instance, rivers and streets can be shown as straight lines on maps. But, when we try to simplify the complex information, we can miss out on some important parts and this can lead to mistakes. We even simplify stories, when we retell them to others.
6. Our brain’s urge to look for a pattern
To remember information, our brain tends to create patterns. We can see the first few letters of the word and know what the word is. As long as we are proficient in a particular skill, we will start to notice patterns rather than individual details. But being reliant on cues can also lead to mistakes.
7. Overestimating our abilities
We all overestimate what we can do. We think we are more capable and can put ourselves under huge responsibilities by underestimating the task that needs to be done. Trying to build furniture without looking at the instruction, trying to move objects without asking for help, and many other tasks we try to attempt to do without realizing how much work it requires.
Although it is good to have confidence, we need to assess abilities and be realistic about what we can or cannot do.
8. We see multitasking as a skill and rely on it too much
Multitasking is not a skill to be proud of. It is an illusion that makes you think that you achieved a lot. Although it seems to help you tackle many tasks at the same time, multitasking comes with a great cost. It slows your brain down. Every time you multitask, your brain switches back and forth from one task to another. It takes some time for your brain to adjust to the new task. Of course, this switching between tasks overworks your brain and you can get burnout a lot quicker. It will also prevent you to see important details and leads to major mistakes.
How to make fewer mistakes?
No matter how much we try, mistakes are inevitable. But, we can certainly reduce the number of mistakes and failures by taking into account the factors that make us fail.
So mistakes occur because of problems in our thinking. To reduce these mistakes we can do the following:
- Keep an eye on details that can affect the outcome.
- Have you looked at the problem from different views or taken others’ opinions?
- Reassess your decisions. Is there anything that caused you to be biased to come up with that decision?
- Are you really capable to do the task or are you overestimating your abilities? Have you done anything similar before? Is it realistic and easy for you to keep up with it?
- Focus on one task at a time.