Summary

The text outlines six common mistakes derived from the teachings of ancient Greek philosophers, emphasizing the importance of learning from these errors to become stronger.

Abstract

The article draws lessons from the ancient Greeks, particularly the philosophers Socrates and Plato, to illustrate how making mistakes can lead to personal growth. It suggests that errors such as reading the wrong books, overspending, wasting time, over-empathizing, neglecting to set boundaries, and procrastination can serve as valuable learning experiences. By reflecting on these mistakes, individuals can develop a better understanding of themselves and their interactions with the world, ultimately leading to a more enriched and productive life.

Opinions

Socrates, despite his arrogance and lack of written work, is considered the "Father of Western Philosophy" and his teachings, as recorded by Plato, remain influential.
Plato is recognized for transforming Socrates' teachings into accessible guides for the public, learning from his mentor's mistakes.
The article implies that reading the wrong books is preferable to not reading at all, as it fosters a habit of reading and learning.
Excessive buying and the subsequent regret, termed "buyer's remorse," is seen as a natural cycle that can lead to better financial habits.
Time management is crucial, and the regret of wasted time can be a catalyst for prioritizing tasks and becoming more productive.
The text suggests that finding a balance between empathy and apathy is essential, criticizing Socrates' approach to dealing with opposition and advocating for Plato's more measured response.
Setting boundaries is presented as a timeless strategy for maintaining personal space and defining relationships, with historical examples illustrating its importance.
The article encourages immediate action to avoid missing opportunities, highlighting the importance of accepting current situations and making swift decisions.
The final thought emphasizes that while one can learn from the experiences of others, such as Plato learning from Socrates, personal growth often comes from making and reflecting on one's own mistakes.

6 Gullible Mistakes to Learn From Ancient Greeks That Made Them Stronger

“Experience” is a fancy word for mistakes.

“People commit mistakes because they do not know that what they are doing is wrong” — Socrates.

Plato, a student of Socrates, believed that people are ignorant. As Plato was Socrate’s student, Plato regarded his words as the ultimate gold mark on the rock.

Socrates spent his life in arrogancy:

Speaking in crude terms
He was unstoppable and fearless
Charged with the corruption of youth
Refused to be exiled or imprisoned

By the end of the time, Socrates made many enemies because of his bold statements.

Studying under his light, Plato was quite disturbed. Even more when Socrates died.

Plato made sure his philosophical teachings were not an entrapment but an easy guide for people to understand. Plato, in short, was the first man who swapped in normal people’s shoes and learned from the mistakes of his teacher, Socrates.

If you see, Socrates is highly regarded as the “Father of western philosophy.” However, he was arrogant and didn’t even write what he learned.

Later, Plato recorded all the teaching about Socrates.

“Experience” is a fancy word for the mistake. With people’s mistakes, we see our guiding paths. That’s what Plato did.

Keeping that in view, below are 6 mistakes you should make in life to make you stronger.

1. Reading the wrong books

In ancient greek, less than 10 percent of the population were able to read and write books.

The only ones that did were either:

Wealthy
Or, con artists

When I was little, I often asked my mom: “How does it feel to be illiterate?”

She replied: “It’s as if you have eyes, but you’re blind.”

Most of us are still blinded by less knowledge. Of course, we read books, but don’t read 24 hours.

There are a total of 1.5 million books available on Kindle. This begs the question: not all books are for us, are they?

Most of my life was spent around novels. Now reading self-help books remind me of my fictitious reading.

But, we should all take it as a healthy mistake. Reading the right books or not, if it instills our reading habit, it’s a win-win.

Reading the wrong books is still better than reading not at all.

2. Buying more

We often have some periods in our life where:

We buy excessively
Have this urge to spend money

Don’t lie. You have that too. But why does it happen?

Buyer’s remorse is a phenomenon that explains people who’re very strict even buy anything and instantly regret it.

If you look closely, it’s a cycle:

Buy more → Regret
Buy less → Waste money with an itch (again)

In a few years, I have figured out that if we buy what we want, we can focus on regretting it.

Because of course, we want to buy. Wish is a deadly thing.

Buying more is associated with flashbacks of saving and spending less. A financial mistake and a few credit card due payments can push every one of us to the productivity track.

3. Wasting time

Do you know how we can value time?

By wasting time.

So funny I am.

Wasted time never comes back. But if you have an ounce of regret, you will not destroy time again.

It’s like: time for a time.

The solution to wasted time is to prioritize time. Nothing can save that time unless you get up and waste no more.

I know wasting time is regretful.

Here, I am referring to the free time we waste as we do not want to work. But some people waste time and end up regretting big opportunities. Never do that.

The classical solution to stop wasting time is to become productive and take short intervals between tasks.

If you want to take a healthy break, make sure you don’t miss any opportunities. Wasted time will never come back, never did for anyone, Not even Socrates.

4. Crying over people

Socrates became a big threat to the Greek Government.

Poor Socrates. No! Poor Government.

Mind you. I am not a die-hard fan of Socrates’ arrogant style. But Socrates never cared about what the opposing party thought as long as they were in the wrong.

This helped Plato do quite the opposite of what Socrates did.

As it’s said, what you suffer is what you do—quite the opposite.

Socrates was a bit harsh. He put his and Plato’s life at risk as well. The opposite of what Socrates did is:

Crying over people.

That’s bad too.

At one end of the rope is empathy, and the other is apathy. A rightful person must balance empathy and apathy.

Crying over people and prioritizing your health would not serve you well.

And if you were confused in the past, there’s no point in why you can’t improve now!

5. Not making boundaries

Have you ever thought about how our ancestors blocked people?

We seem to do it easily on facetime, Twitter, and other social apps.

Our ancestors blocked people by “boundaries.”

One of the famous examples my Granny told me:

“She did was to hang on the telephone wire as they were traveling to another city. As no one was in the room, the caller eventually got stuck with a nice prank.”

A whopping 2 weeks prank that didn’t end well.

Boundary is not a new term. You could build boundaries even if you failed to do I before.

And most probably, remind it to the people. You can follow the method of my Granny or create your own. Boundaries help you define people to their extent. Everyone knows its place. You win.

If you failed to do it before, keep it as a change that you now know how to deal with people.

Experience in cutting ties with people and keeping the honest ones is worthy of all.

6. Not starting now!

Most people I’ve met face a disorder:

Not accepting the current situation.

I am a fault for this too. All my life, when an unspent thing occurred, I couldn’t accept it.

This prevents me from making decisions.

For example:

I was approved as the best basketball player in my high school, and I had to make a quick decision on a team.

I was afraid of choosing the wrong team members and leaving the good ones to Anna (the opposing team leader) I almost feared and made wrong player decisions.

Not making quick decisions left me with moderate players.

However, I was able to change the outcome through the chit-pull method, but life doesn’t always help you with that.

Remember that we can always obsess with a result later but taking action is necessary.

Try one of the few methods below to help you cope with your current stance:

Write a letter or blog post
Share it on Facebook or LinkedIn
Call your family member to inform them
Brag about it

In short, writing or speaking about it helps your brain register it too.

Final thoughts:

Plato walked in the footsteps of Socrates but on a different path.

I can’t stress this enough, but you can be kind, gentle, and humble but still choose to set boundaries with people.

Remember: experience is a fancy word for mistakes.