"EXPERIENCE IS THE BEST TEACHER"; How true is it?

"Experience is the best teacher" is a saying we hear a lot especially from elders or those who are products of their experiences either good or bad.

My aim here is not to argue that popular saying but to propose to you that experience shouldn't always teach you before you learn.

Experience is the collection of events and/or activities from which an individual or group may gather knowledge, opinions, and skills.

In other words, experience is a feeling or process you undergo that gathers for you knowledge, opinions and skills. This is true and acceptable but I frown at one thing; it being expressed as the BEST. It isn't entirely the best teacher. 

Sometime ago, I randomly heard an interesting quote from someone. It says, "If experience were to teach you everything you need to learn in life, you might get old and die before learning everything". 

Yes, we need experiences to afford us better opportunities as they are prerequisites for being chosen for a position in an organization. An employer would always go for the most experienced employee with a longer period of training.

But in this scenario, I'm talking about learning the lessons of life. 

You need not to pass through the hurdles of life before learning what you should know about life. A lot of people in one way or another has gone through diverse processes; many made mistakes, others did it right. 

Thank God many tell the stories of their pitfalls, mistakes and how they corrected them just so we learn from their experiences as to avoid it replicating itself in our lives.

The Bible, the internet, books, history, tales are filled with success and failure stories you can learn from. You don't have to experience everything before you learn.

I find it very foolish for a person to read or hear the story of someone's fall and what caused it only to fall into the same pit. Only an unwise fellow will let a modern day Delilah steal his vision, just as the initial Delilah did to Samson.

My dear, stories aren't just meant to excite, interest or amaze you but to help you make better decisions.

In as much as experience makes us wise, we should get wiser by the heard or read experience of others to save us delayed success in our field of specialty and pursuit.

Why do you read books anyway? Why do we hear stories about people?

That's because we want to borrow the knowledge these people possess from the wealth of experiences they've had relating to the subject we desire direction hence applying it in our lives as to yield positive result.

No doubt, experience gives men upper ground in life because experience births unforgettable knowledge that may last a lifetime.

But since we cannot spend our whole lives letting experience inform us, let's allow that of others inform us. Let it be a guide, a landmark, and a steering wheel to use for our advantage through the route of life as to avoid delays or setbacks onward to our destination (destiny).

Yes, the things you've encountered yourself sticks more than that of others because it's personal.

But still, you don't have to pass through the bad and ugly experiences before you learn.

Jordan Peterson, the man who first brought up that proverb said, "Experience is the best teacher and the worst experience teaches the best lessons"

Tell me, are you willing to go through worst experiences in life before learning the best lessons?

I'm sure you wouldn't want that. 

You have to continuously be on a quest for success and failure stories, learn what to do and what not to do in those stories and take necessary precautions as to follow the right course towards your destiny.

Though experience is good as it trains us to be better individuals in our field of specialty and purpose but I say still, learn from others. Stories are everywhere. It will save you time, energy, wasted efforts and resources. 

One other thing I'd love to correct is this: Experience isn't actually the best teacher, the Holy Spirit is. A person who brings things to your remembrance and unveil things to come. He sharpens and enlightens your understanding to comprehend even what mere men can't.

I think He deserves to be accorded such title (BEST TEACHER) not "Mr. Experience".

Stay blessed.