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OK, so I quoted quite a bit from the Science Daily article, and here is why. This article speaks to how fast our brain processes data, in this case 1/25th second, which is not a lot of time to make a decision that can change the course of one’s life. For example, I do poorly on a Science test, and decide to give up Science even though I have an aptitude and curiosity for it. If I could train myself to be aware of my interpretation of the score, I might put off a decision about continuing science until I was more relaxed about the test score, and I certainly do not want to build any automatic negative thoughts about science based on one test score.

And if I am a recovering addict who relapses, or creates a really hard to release resentment, then a low awareness of the process described below, which happens so fast, could cost me my life, if I decide that I can never be sober. So let’s all get switched over to the next right thing to do mind set, which helps me learn about my mistakes.

“ScienceDaily (2011-09-30) — “Whether you think you can or think you can’t — you’re right,” said Henry Ford. A new study finds that people who think they can learn from their mistakes have a different brain reaction to mistakes than people who think intelligence is fixed…While doing the task, the participant wore a cap on his or her head that records electrical activity in the brain. When someone makes a mistake, their brain makes two quick signals: an initial response that indicates something has gone awry — Moser calls it the “‘oh crap’ response” — and a second that indicates the person is consciously aware of the mistake and is trying to right the wrong. Both signals occur within a quarter of a second of the mistake. After the experiment, the researchers found out whether people believed they could learn from their mistakes or not.

People who think they can learn from their mistakes did better after making a mistake — in other words, they successfully bounced back after an error. Their brains also reacted differently, producing a bigger second signal, the one that says “I see that I’ve made a mistake, so I should pay more attention” Moser says.

The research shows that these people are different on a fundamental level, Moser says. “This might help us understand why exactly the two types of individuals show different behaviors after mistakes.” People who think they can learn from their mistakes have brains that are tuned to pay more attention to mistakes, he says. This research could help in training people to believe that they can work harder and learn more, by showing how their brain is reacting to mistakes.”