Why people still fail when given a 2nd chance

People talk about second chances in various ways. They say: “if I knew then what I know now.” “If I had an opportunity to do things over.” “Please give me a second chance.” “Can we start over?” The list goes on. Most people actually believe they learn from their mistakes. However, when you look closely, you see history repeats itself. Why do most repeat the same pattern? They approach second chances with a first chance mindset.

Many people can tell you they learned what “not to do”. Except, they fail to realize that learning what “not to do” does not mean you know “what to do”. The list of things “to not do” can be infinite. You only need one item on the list of things “to do” to make things work. Because the brain can get stuck with repeating patterns, learning from mistakes is not necessarily the best way to learn.

Ted Santos @ Board of Veteren CEOs