Why People Make Mistakes

It may look like a straightforward question, but in fact, it is not. There are tons of factors that may lead to mistakes, and most people never think or try to avoid them. The following article categorizes these factors and sources and quickly explains why it happens.

Knowledge and Experience

These two factors may work in both directions. People may make mistakes if they do not have enough knowledge or experience, or vice versa when they think they know everything and have enough experience to handle any issue.

Let us discuss lack of knowledge and experience first. It may not appear obvious, but there are lots of people in such a position. They are doing work without actually knowing what they are doing and how it works. It happens because of incorrect qualification requirements, too much responsibility or pressure, and so on.

The other way around is when people claim they know everything and can handle any issue. Sometimes it may be true, sometimes not. When it is not true, big trouble may appear. If a person isn’t sure and wants to consult with an expert, it is normal. An expert may help by explaining the issue and proposing the solution. However, a person who knows everything considers himself an expert and doesn’t want external help, which may lead to big mistakes. Such a situation happens if a person never made big mistakes and lacks critical thinking.

Confidence

This factor also works in both directions: lack of confidence and overconfidence. The sources and consequences are similar to knowledge and experience.

A person who lacks confidence may doubt each own step, spend too much time and effort figuring out what may go wrong, and preparing for consequences that never happen. It may be caused by a lack of knowledge or experience, personal traits, communication issues, etc.

An overconfident person always knows what to do, where to do it, and how. Again, this person may be wrong in some cases, and the consequences may be terrible. It usually happens with people who did not have enough experience and can not adequately evaluate outcomes.

Human Factors

Human factors, such as communication, personal traits, and so on, may also lead to multiple mistakes. Usually, these are mistakes related to working in a big team when a person has to work with other people to achieve success. These factors may slow down the progress, cause stress, and lead to different mistakes. Moreover, in the long perspective, they may affect the project itself, having long-lasting consequences.

Another group of mistakes caused by human factors is interpersonal communication issues. Yes, mistakes in communication also causing troubles in your life and leading to different negative consequences. It is better to think ahead and prevent them as soon as possible.

Overall, human factor-related mistakes are typical for any group of people trying to do something together. There is no way to avoid them completely, but there are multiple best practices on decreasing their impact and preventing them in the future.

External Factors

People usually look for external factors to explain their mistakes instead of admitting internal issues. Nobody wants to accept his faults and problems; it is easier to blame the external environment and tell it’s not your fault. That is the biggest catch of this factor type: such mistakes exist, but in most cases, people just using them to avoid personal responsibility and accept their mistakes.

Let us quickly talk about the actual external factors. There are three major groups of them: economic, political, and social. Each of these groups includes anything that may cause trouble in the appropriate area. And, of course, all of them can also lead to different mistakes. It is hard to predict such factors because they depend on the environment, not on the people. But it is always good to spend some time on analysis and preparation for the most apparent issues.

Here is the overall review of all common factors that may cause mistakes. Some are trivial, others not, some are easy to explain and avoid, others not. The general best practice is doing your best, analyzing the mistakes, and preventing them in the future. This way, you can learn and help yourself and others to do better work and be a better person.