You are entitled to your opinion. I have no problem with anyone who disagrees with my points of view. To be honest, I just don't like the way you speak to me. It's not coming from a place of trying to learn and understand each other but to accuse and to project your own biases. For these reasons, I won't be responding to your comments anymore. It's not worth my time or energy.

"I don't know what you're trying to say."

It's okay if you are unclear about something. You ask someone to clarify. Nowhere have I suggested that you don't practice to get better after failing. My point is that (and I'll use your term) before "game time", you have to make sure that you are practicing the right way with the right techniques. That's the reason people have coaches and teachers to model how to do something properly. They are also there to point out what you are doing right and doing wrong during your practice, so you can correct your mistakes. "Cry"? I have no idea where you get that from, but there is no shame in crying if that makes you feel better before you try again.

It is not one or the other, but both. Yes, we can learn by trial and error. Personal experience is highly impactful and useful. We can also learn by analyzing the actions that other people make. We don't necessarily have to repeat the same errors in order to gain valuable insights. For example, you don't have to become an addict to know the devastating impact of substance abuse. All you have to do is to drive down the street where junkies shoot up drugs in broad daylight. That's what I meant by saying it is much less costly, because the price is too high to pay to learn this kind of lesson. By no mean am I implying that you should avoid taking risks or failures. Making mistakes is an important part of the learning process. Practice makes perfect through repetition and muscle memories, but practice making perfect mistakes also makes you an expert in failing. Parents who chastise their children when they make mistakes may not realize the enormous harm they are causing. Doing so makes children afraid to take risks, instills self-doubt, and anger. Instead, parents should give their children encouragement and discuss ways they can improve their chance of success the next time. No shouting. No demeaning. Just guidance. That is what some commentors misunderstood about what I said.

It's much less costly and efficient to learn from OTHER PEOPLE'S mistakes.

More than ever in the past, we have access to unlimited amount of data and information with a few clicks of a mouse. The challenge is being able to distinguish between facts and opinions, information and disinformation, and evidence and speculation. Once you've fallen into the wrong rabbit hole, it's very hard for many people to climb out of it because of the algorithm's relentless goal to feed your curiosities, biases, addictions, and deepest fears.

When you become a doctor and I am old and frail, you can return a favor by not making me sit in the waiting room for 30 minutes to see you. At least play some happy music or send a pretty nurse to check up on me while I wait. Just kidding.

I dropped out of class in my senior year of high school. My mother kicked me out of the home the same year, because I was not getting along with certain family members. Without a high school diploma or any money, I was told to find a job and a place to live on my own. By luck, I was able to find a full time job through a friend, and my manager allowed me to take classes at a community college while I was working. It took me 7 years to graduate from the community college when it should have been 2 years, because I was constantly dropping out of classes in order to avoid getting Fs on my transcript. When I was left with only two classes on my schedule, I planned to quite college altogether. I changed my mind when my English professor shocked me by reading one of my essays aloud in class. I never had that feeling of accomplishment and pride before. She read another one of my essays in front of the class in another occasion. It was a turning point. I decided to rededicate my effort, and I quit my job so that I could fully immerse myself in my studies. My professor gave me the confidence that I could succeed. Over time, I raised my grade point average from F to A. As a result, I transferred to a U.C. university in California. I went on to earn a Masters degree in education and became an elementary and middle school teacher. I hope that my story gives you some hope. Realize that what is happening to you right now is just a snapshot of your life or a short chapter of your book. You are only 23, so there are still many chapters to be written by you. I wish you nothing but the best. I and I'm sure many other people out there are rooting for you.

The assumption is that doing it (whatever that may be) is a good idea to begin with. There should be another box in the beginning that says, "Should I do it?" or "What am I trying to accomplish?" Also missing is, "What is my plan?"