Make the Fault Seem Easy to Correct

Key Concepts

  • Encouragement Over Criticism: Highlighting the importance of encouragement over blunt or negative criticism, the chapter discusses how positive reinforcement can drastically improve an individual's willingness and ability to learn and improve.

  • Perception of Ease in Correction: Making faults seem easy to correct can give people the confidence to attempt improvements, as opposed to feeling overwhelmed and disheartened by the perceived difficulty of the task.

Practical Advice

  • Positive Framing of Challenges: Emphasize the attainability of overcoming faults by suggesting they are minor and easily rectifiable. This approach fosters a more optimistic perspective and increases effort towards improvement.

  • Highlighting Strengths: Focus on the existing strengths while addressing areas for improvement, as this boosts confidence and motivates individuals to leverage their strengths to tackle their weaknesses.

Examples from the Chapter

  1. Dancing Lessons Experience: A man learns to dance better under the guidance of a teacher who praises his inherent rhythm and downplays his previous dancing faults, instead of criticizing his skills harshly.

  2. Lowell Thomas’s Encouragement: By convincing someone that they would naturally excel at bridge due to their good memory, Thomas demonstrates the power of making tasks appear easy and matching them to an individual's existing skills.

  3. Ely Culbertson's Career Shift: Culbertson’s shift to a successful bridge career stemmed from someone recognizing and encouraging his analytical skills, showing how perception of personal competence by others can redirect life paths.

  4. Clarence M. Jones's Son David: His improvement in academic and personal development after his father facilitated easy-to-manage learning steps for math, paired with enthusiastic encouragement, illustrates the transformative power of positive reinforcement.

Principle to Follow

  • Principle 8: Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct. Engage in practices that build confidence and simplifies challenges, thereby enhancing the likelihood of success and continuous improvement.