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The Picard Principle: It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose

ge that “It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness; that is life.” This principle denotes that even if you follow the best course of action available to you, you can sometimes still end up with a negative outcome, such as failure to achieve your goals.

For example, this principle can help you debias irrational just-world beliefs that you have, by illustrating that people’s actions—including yours—don’t always lead to consequences that are fair from a moral perspective. In summary, the Picard principle has various potential benefits, including helping you assess situations more rationally, cope with negative emotions, and feel more motivated to take action. If you’ve determined that using this principle is a good idea, then the key way to do so is to simply remind yourself that it’s possible to make no mistakes and still lose, meaning that even if you follow the best course of action available to you, you can sometimes still end up with a negative outcome.

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