Wednesday, May 1, 2019

You Learn More From Your Losses Than Your Wins?

I don't know who the originator of this quote was, but certainly the idea is not new. But is it true?  Do you always learn more from losses? Is there something inherent about "losing" that is more instructive than what we obtain from "winning", or is there something about losing that compels us to learn more?

Depending on the loss, we may actually become too overwhelmed or despondent to be open to lessons, at least at on the onset.  Losses most certainly can, when we are not overwhelmed by them, provide a powerful motivating fuel that propels us toward growth. Losses and setbacks most certainly can provide insights into pitfalls that exist within our environments, skills that we have not yet developed fully, or our psychosocial vulnerabilities and "soft spots." Not learning from these most certainly can hinder our growth, development, and productivity (not to mention happiness and well being!!).

However, lessons from positive psychology, resiliency studies, and the strengths perspective of social work show us that we can learn just as much from our "wins" as from our losses. We can more adeptly adopt to life's challenges and thrive when we capitalize and build upon our core strengths and assets. By leaning into our strengths, we can become best versions of ourselves and live accordingly. Successes can also build our confidence, and make it more likely that we will persist during challenging times.

We learn from both wins and losses. Growth and development should be built upon both maximizing our strengths and transforming/mitigating our weaknesses.

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