Learning From Mistakes
Learning from mistakes and feedback is an essential element in the pursuit of sustainable high performance. How best are we able to accomplish this?
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The pursuit of sustainable high performance requires progressive improvements in the ability to perform tasks. This includes craft specific tasks as well as the polyvagal informed mind-based and body-based skills and strategies. In order to develop our capabilities and capacity in any domain of life, it is necessary to learn from the mistakes we inevitably will make and the feedback we are provided.
It is commonly accepted and discussed within high performance domains that learning from mistakes is an essential factor to developing the necessary traits and skills in order to perform to the limits of our ability. What is less commonly discussed is how best to accomplish this task. While the recommendation to learn from mistakes may seem relatively simple and easy to accomplish, there are considerations which can optimize this process.
As discussed above, and often described by those within high performance domains, it is the reality that making mistakes is an inevitable aspect in the pursuit of performing towards the limits of our potential. Pushing our current limits of capacity is necessary in order to improve our skillsets and doing so will inevitably result in making mistakes. Another consideration in the development of skills and abilities is constructive feedback from knowledgeable individuals. What is most important following the unavoidable mistakes we will inevitably make is the acknowledgement of the error, learning from what occurred, and moving forward while incorporating what we have learned. Performing these functions with as little self-criticism and judgement as possible is another important aspect. While this rubric is commonly discussed, there is much less frequent discussion of how best to accomplish this in a manner that is consistent with and supportive of our biology.
The polyvagal informed perspective provides important considerations which can allow us to develop the ability to optimally learn from mistakes and feedback. From the outset it is important to acknowledge that making mistakes and receiving feedback, even when constructive, can provide cues of uncertainty, risk, and threat. Such cues can lead to predictable shifts in biological state towards sympathetic and dorsal vagal states. It is important to also realize that such biological shifts can manifest in increased psychological and physiological signs of protection and defensiveness. Such a shift can make it significantly more difficult to constructively take in information and learn from mistakes and feedback.
The understanding that there is potential for evaluation and criticism associated with mistakes and feedback is important. If we are to optimally learn from these experiences, it becomes essential to limit, to the greatest extent possible, such shifts in biological state. In addition, in order to fully consider the information provided from these events, it is important to be able to maintain an open mind, evaluate alternate viewpoints and explanations, and consider other methods of performing and accomplishing tasks. Such attributes are best expressed from a ventral vagal stabilized state. Furthermore, these traits are expressed to a lesser degree within sympathetic and dorsal vagal states.
The above discussion leads to the recognition that in order to best be able to learn from mistakes and feedback, it is necessary to shift towards ventral vagal stabilized states. This can be more challenging than anticipated given the very nature of having made a mistake can inherently lead to protective and defensive state. It can also be recognized that in instances in which we have more difficulty accepting a mistake or feedback or those in which we instantly feel defensive in these situations are all indicators of an underlying sympathetic biological state.
Given the above discussion, it becomes apparent that in order to optimally learn from mistakes and feedback, it is first necessary to increase ventral vagal stabilization. This provides the framework for the ideal attributes described above to take in the pertinent information and learn from it. It is also necessary to reduce, to the greatest extent possible, the potential for protective and defensive reactions associated with sympathetic states to interfere with the potential learning opportunity provided by mistakes and feedback.
This recognition is important not only for ourselves but also applying this understanding to those around us. In scenarios in which we are learning from mistakes and feedback, we can employ polyvagal informed skills and strategies to increase ventral vagal stabilization. In addition, we can apply this framework when teaching others or assisting others in their process of learning from mistakes and feedback. By increasing the degree of our own ventral vagal stabilization, we are better able to co-regulate those around us. This will lead to predictable shifts in their biological state towards one which is ventral vagal stabilized. In addition, in the scenario in which we are providing information to others, it is important to recognize their biological state and consider whether or not to delay providing feedback or other communication related to the mistake on the basis of their current state. It may be wise to wait until they are in a more grounded, ventral vagal stabilized state. This perspective increases the likelihood that others will be able to optimally learn from the experience.
Within the pursuit of sustainable high performance across high demand domains and crafts, such as healthcare professionals, it is often the case that individuals work within groups or teams. In such settings, this understanding of how best to optimize learning from mistakes and feedback is crucial not only for ourselves, but for assisting others in the same process. The polyvagal informed lens provides a greater understanding of how best to accomplish this for all individuals.
The pursuit of sustainable high performance requires that we, and those within our team, learn from mistakes and feedback. As discussed above, this essential process is optimized through ventral vagal stabilized states. The mind-based and body-based skills and strategies of the polyvagal informed toolbox are essential in this pursuit. This understanding demonstrates that The Practices of the Healthcare Athlete are foundational in the necessary learning process underlying the pursuit of sustainable high performance. To learn more, including about polyvagal informed coaching for healthcare professionals and others in high demand domains, visit www.darindavidson.com.
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