Fail 16% of the time
To be successful, you need to fail 16% of the time.*
A team of psychologists and neuroscientists studied the success-to-failure ratio.
On one end of the spectrum: perfect success
On the other end of the spectrum: abject failure
Both poles decrease motivation.
But for obvious different reasons.
Perfect success = boring and non-engaging.
Abject failure = exhausting and demoralizing.
Somewhere between the two lies the sweet spot.
A challenge just beyond the edge of our competence.
But still attainable enough that we keep trying until we get it.
Their research found that the optimal error rate is 15.87%.
We learn two things from their findings:
The road to success is paved with a bit of failure.
And,
Perfect success leads to the same destination as abject failure.
Are you surprised by the study’s findings
