The Question: Is it better to learn from other people’s experiences or to experience things for yourself?
My 2 Cents: The saying “experience is the best teacher” is a statement with which I agree, but I don’t agree that you have to learn everything on your own and/or the hard way. Just like you take other people’s advice, you can learn from other people’s mistakes and successes. We’re quick to want to learn and try to duplicate someone else’s prosperity. Why not learn from others’ tragedies and NOT duplicate them? Why do some of us have to bump our heads hard before we get it? Stop that!
I agree with those of you who said it’s both: learn from other people’s experiences AND experiece things for yourself. With that being said, try to be wise about which experiences you take on first-hand and which experiences you allow to be handed down.
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Take a few moments to check out the tweets from Twitter on this subject:
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PROTECTED TWEETER I believe in both..you can learn from other people and yourself
Gingerlatte I’ve lived vicariously thru others. Saved me tons of heartache.
PROTECTED TWEETER Realistically you will learn from both, that’s how life works…
jigsawverbiage yes. 
Accept the caution from select others but don’t be afraid to throw it to the wind.
rishaholmes better to experience things yourself.
shargrove You need both to learn.
ThisIsMelyssah Both. Important to make own mistakes but wise to learn from others’ experiences, tho can be harder to relate to
Mo_Rease I would say a little of both.
live_cotton first-hand experience definitely drives the point home, but some mistakes can be very costly!
TankaBar_JasonD It depends on what it is. like a worker that is in the wrong place at the wrong time and losses a limb. better to learn frm dem
atane You can learn from the mistakes of others, as well as your own.
Quintessence_T both—it takes watching AND hands on experience to learn…
treschic67 Its better to Learn from your OWN Experiences.
ibster Depends on the lesson. I don’t need to be run over myself to learn that looking both ways is beneficial.
UrbanWiseWifey some people need both! After thinking about it more, I suppose I’d rather learn things the “easy” way.
davidsbass That which you learn by yourself sinks deeper; but that which you learn from others reaches wider.
Pettra88 Both
jreneker Learn from other’s for the bad stuff and experience for yourself for the good stuff.
MissMeandI It’s better 2 have a combination of both…Other’s to know what to expect, your own to know how you’d handle it
NightShade10 It’s easier on me if I allow myself to learn from other’s experiences, less heartache.Observation beats perspiration this time!
chela816 MY goal is to learn from other people’s mistakes, but build my own positive experiences.
DiamondEmory Life is made up of both, my own unique experiences, 2 be shared AND me learning frm othrs, not reinventing the wheel.
tclarkusa Experience things for yourself. What’s the cliche’–> Experience is the best teacher.
LPGthatDude That heavily depends on the experience. If it’s something dangerous, learn from them. If not, personal experience is good.
walkerdl It depends on the experience. Some, you can benefit from learning from others. Others, it’s better to experience urself
JoshDamage first hand learning experiences are the best teaching tools.
ishadowaddict better to learn from other peoples experience especially when it comes to harmful behavior.
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The commentary doesn’t have to end!
Please feel free to continue to add your comments below.
