Your money may be gone, but all is not lost

Schopenhauer once said the best way to spend one’s money is to be cheated as it can make them wiser.

When I stumbled across this quote in high school, I thought it was nonsense, until I learned the “mindset” theory proposed by the pessimist philosopher. I guess what he was trying to say is those with a growth mindset can make good out of something as bad as being cheated.

Social and developmental psychology professor Carol Dweck of Stanford University argues that a mindset determines what we learn from mistakes. A fixed mindset assumes that our ability and value are static givens, preventing us from reflecting on or learning from mistakes. A growth mindset, on the other hand, believes that our ability can change if we try. Instead of looking at who is better than whom, it asks if we are better today than who we were yesterday based on the belief that we can correct our mistakes and improve, no matter how painful it would be.

Having a growth mindset is like carrying a mirror around. You look at the mirror and reflect on the mistakes you made as opposed to getting bogged down in them. Few countries put more emphasis on winning than Korea. It is high time we realize that learning from mistakes is just as important as winning itself to allow more growth. Did something bad happen to you yesterday? Now, it is up to you to decide if it was bad luck or a blessing in disguise that will help you grow. As Schopenhauer said, the money we lost can make us wiser.


tjdrud0306@donga.com