During my college years, I often tried to avoid mistakes instead of really understanding the material. This approach led to a shallow understanding of my subjects. I could follow the steps, but I didn’t grasp the concepts behind them.

Now I want to share my personal experience to explain the difference between being “not wrong” and being right.

The Early Years: Striving to Be “Not Wrong”

When you start working towards a goal, it’s natural to be careful not to make mistakes. But this mindset limits your opportunities to grow and learn. My main focus was to avoid mistakes. I only answered questions or participated in discussions when I was sure I wouldn’t be wrong. I cared more about not making mistakes than really understanding the material.

The Turning Point: Embracing Mistakes

You have to embrace your mistakes.

Focus on understanding why you do each step, not just what the steps are.

By making mistakes we can learn new thing, gain new experiences.

Eventually, I realized that my fear of being wrong was holding me back. I noticed that my more confident and capable peers were not afraid to make mistakes. They saw errors as chances to learn, not as failures. This change in perspective was a turning point for me.

Understanding the Difference: “Not Wrong” vs. Being Right

Through this process, I learned to distinguish between being “not wrong” and being right.

Being “Not Wrong”:

Being “not wrong” is reactive. It focuses on avoiding errors rather than finding your truth.  

I started asking more questions, seeking help when needed, and participating in discussions. This was uncomfortable at first, but it became easier over time.

Being Right:

Being right means seeking accuracy and truth.

When I focused on understanding the material, I started to see improvement. I wasn’t just avoiding mistakes; I was gaining real confidence in my abilities and understanding.

This experience taught me the significant difference between “not wrong” and being right.

My journey from striving to be “not wrong” to aiming to be right has been transformative. The alternative is that you can challenge yourself by doing the things that most people make excuses to avoid. You can thrust your leg forward and battle to regain your balance. Sure, you’ll fall down along the way, but it’s the risk of falling down that makes the achievement worthwhile.