“Never go to excess, but let moderation be your guide”
- Cicero

Cicero, the Roman orator, philosopher, and statesman who died in 43 B.C., wrote over 2,000 years ago what he considered to be the top six mistakes made by human beings.

1. The delusion that personal gain is made by crushing others.
2. The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed.
3. Insisting that something is impossible because we cannot seem to accomplish it.
4. Refusing to set aside trivial preferences.
5. Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and study.
6. Attempting to compel others to think and live as we do.

 

Here is my take on each of these common mistakes that are still very relevant even today.

1. The delusion that personal gain is made by crushing others.

This delusion is the result of a scarcity mentality, which is the belief that there is a finite and limited amount of wealth available in the world.

People operating from this mentality see the world as a finite piece of pie, or a zero-sum game. Whenever someone takes a slice, it naturally leaves that much less for everyone else to have.

When operating from this mentality, making others lose or stopping them from taking a slice of the pie may seem like the only way to make sure you get to keep your own piece.

Today, we live in a world where value and wealth are constantly being created; the pie is not limited or finite, it just keeps growing and growing. Just think about all the new value and wealth created since the Internet and World Wide Web were invented.

A scarcity mentality is not consistent with the reality we see everywhere around us.

That’s why it is essential to move from a scarcity mentality to an abundance mentality.

When you operate from an abundance mentality, you shift your focus to the creation of new value instead of trying to stop others from taking a slice of the pie.

The shift from a scarcity to an abundance mentality allows the development of what Zig Ziglar calls the Golden Rule Philosophy, which says that “you can have everything you want in life as long as you help enough people get what they want.”

Helping other people get what they want is the perfect recipe for creating value and wealth. Instead of focusing your efforts on crushing your competition, focus on how to create added value for your customers.

If you are a business owner or a manager, think about how you can help your employees develop and grow in order to get what they want. In turn, they will help you get what you want.

2. The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed.

The truth is we all worry. There are bills to pay, children to raise, deadlines to meet, and crises in many parts of the world.

Some worrying can actually be helpful; it means we aren’t shirking our responsibilities and that we care what happens to ourselves and the people we love. However, there comes a point where worry becomes excessive and overwhelming, taking over all of our thoughts and leaving us tired and depressed.

It’s critical to our physical and emotional health to learn the difference between normal, healthy worry and worry that is unfounded or irrational. A useful stress management skill is to learn how to minimize your worrying once you’ve realized that it has become unhealthy.

Read more about how to stop worrying about things that you cannot change.

3. Insisting that something is impossible because we cannot seem to accomplish it.

Because of this common mistake, many people give up before they even start; they never even attempt to pursue their dreams, or improve their life in a significant way.

One reason why so many don’t even try, why they don’t bother making an effort to follow their dreams or make their life better, is that they never fully realize what is possible and available to them. If you think something truly is impossible, why even bother?

There is a part in all of us that, if we let it, can consistently hold us back. A part of us that can only see things as they are right now; that cannot see how our situation could be improved or how our problems could possibly be solved. As a result, many end up living lives from one day to the next without a clear direction or a strategy to help them get what they truly want.

Albert Einstein once said that “Imagination is more powerful than knowledge.” I believe this is true in many respects because while knowledge allows you to see things as they are, imagination allows you to see things as they could be.

When you become aware of what is possible, you begin to realize that many of your dreams can be achieved, that your challenges can be conquered, and that your problems can be solved. In doing so, you open up a whole new set of avenues and possibilities for your life, which by itself is a tremendous source of passion and energy.

4. Refusing to set aside trivial preferences.

The way out of this common mistake is to learn to pick your battles. It is all too easy to get so caught up nitpicking the trivial details, that you lose sight of the big picture.

During the Pyrrhic War, King Pyrrhus of Epirus won two battles over the Roman army in 280 BC and 279 BC. Unfortunately, these “victories” caused such devastating casualties to his own army, that he eventually lost the war.

The story was so memorable, that the term ‘Pyrrhic Victory’ is now used to describe a victory that comes with an overwhelming price. King Pyrrhus is quoted as saying after the victories, “Another such victory over the Romans and we are undone.”

You’ve probably heard the expression, “You can choose to be right, or you can choose to be happy”. This is a wise saying reminding us to avoid pyrrhic victories in our relationships with others.

Don’t fight to win a battle with such a high price that you also end up losing at the same time you win.

5. Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and study.

Here are some startling statistics about our reading habits:

• 1/3 of High School graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives
• 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college
• 80 percent of US families did not buy or read a book last year
• 70 percent of the books published do not make a profit
• About 120,000 books are published each year in the US
• Each day in the US, people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.

There is an old saying that ‘Leaders are Readers.’ That is how they get to the top of their field; they continue learning more and more until they become experts.

A couple of months ago, I happened to tune in to CSPAN while Donald Trump was giving testimony to congress regarding the construction project for a new U.N. building.

Normally, I would have just switched the channel right away, but this was “The Donald,” and I was curious to see what he had to say. It was fascinating.

Trump was tearing apart the U.N.’s proposed construction plan for their new building, claiming that it would cost billions (that’s billions with a B) more than necessary because of the ineptness of their planning.

What impressed me most was just how much Trump really knows about the construction and real estate business, and how articulately he explained all the problems with the U.N. plan to congress. He is most certainly an expert, and it’s no accident that he is a billionaire.

One way to learn and gain expertise is by reading books. Brian Tracy says that by reading 15 minutes a day, you can become an expert in your field in just a few years, much faster than if you just tried learning from your own mistakes through trial and error.

Reading is almost never enough to make you a real expert though, you also need to get your hands dirty and gain experience by actually doing the work and learning from your mistakes and failures. However, reading can help speed up the process considerably.

6. Attempting to compel others to think and live as we do.

This is perhaps the most dangerous of all the mistakes because it often leads to conflict, oppression, and war. Unfortunately, it still happens all the time in the name of religion, politics, morality, and national security.

A good way to overcome this mistake is to develop what Aristotle called an educated mind.

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
- Aristotle

To me, this definition of an educated mind means not being afraid of differing ideas and viewpoints. Not feeling threatened by intellectual challenges that may bring into question some of your beliefs, values, ideals, goals, or even your purpose.

Do you ever find yourself rejecting ideas or thoughts that challenge your beliefs right off the bat, without even considering whether they could be true?

You can read more about how to develop a more educated mind in this article.

 

These six mistakes of man have been around for thousands of years, and they will probably be around for as long as human beings exist, but just because others fall prey to them doesn’t mean that you have to.

Just being aware and conscious of these classic mistakes is often enough for you to stop making them.