ADVERTISEMENT

There are times ♪ when you try your best, but you don't succeed. ♪ Like tripping on that step while walking a flight of stairs or dribbling coffee on a white shirt and hoping no one saw that. However, some people aren’t fortunate enough to power walk away from such embarrassing moments, as they somehow end up online for everyone to see.

Just like what happened to these folks from the An Attempt Was Made subreddit. The community is full of instances of people who, despite giving their best, still fail miserably. Scroll down to find some of their freshest posts, and don’t forget to upvote the ones that made you wince the most.

#1

An Attempt Was Made To Listen To A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

An Attempt Was Made To Listen To A Sherlock Holmes Mystery

Bawonga Report

#2

To Relax A Bit More

To Relax A Bit More

verbaltastic Report

#3

To Collect Rent On A House You Live In For Free

To Collect Rent On A House You Live In For Free

ClapBackBetty Report

We often hear that we need to experience failure to learn from our mistakes, grow, and be better. Understandably, knowing the reason for our lack of success may prevent us from repeating the same errors in the future. 

But is that really true? It turns out that when it comes to human psychology, things aren’t as simple as they may seem. In a 2022 paper, researchers claim that most people are highly resistant to learning from their failures. And when they do, they tend to take away the wrong lessons.

#4

To Get Out Of A Zoom Class

To Get Out Of A Zoom Class

reddit.com Report

#5

šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļøi Tried šŸ˜‚

šŸ¤·ā€ā™€ļøi Tried šŸ˜‚

messydepressy6 Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#6

To Stop A Vegan

To Stop A Vegan

chiefrish Report

The first reason for such human behavior is associated with emotions. Our species is mostly invested in feeling good about ourselves. Being a failure isn’t really compatible with this; that’s why we tend to walk away from it and protect our egos. 

The authors further explain, “Contemplating failure is hard because failure is a threatening experience. Indeed, when a failure threatens people’s sense of self-worth, they can react in ways that undermine not just their learning but also their mental and physical health in an effort to preserve their sense of self.”

#7

To Build A Nest

To Build A Nest

L00k_Again Report

#8

A For Effort, Kiddo

A For Effort, Kiddo

MightyBooshX Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#9

To Accurately Represent Anatomy

To Accurately Represent Anatomy

ARMbar94 Report

They continue saying, “Thus, although people may want to learn from failure, they often hold a competing goal that wins out: to feel good about themselves. The desire to see oneself as a good, competent person is a strong motivational force. When this goal triumphs, people disengage from failure."

ADVERTISEMENT
#10

Outside My Hotel

Outside My Hotel

matt120501 Report

#11

To Hide A Parcel

To Hide A Parcel

bells864 Report

#12

To Create A Chat Bot

To Create A Chat Bot

dacourtbatty Report

The second factor that influences our dissociation from failure is cognitive. We tend not to like hearing information that contradicts our beliefs and expectations. Our lack of success does exactly that—disagrees with our anticipation for triumph. Why take on a project you know you won’t shine at?

#13

To Scam Someone Who Clearly Wasnā€™t In The Mood

To Scam Someone Who Clearly Wasnā€™t In The Mood

dangern00dl Report

#14

Step1: Buy A Man

Step1: Buy A Man

AdditionalBlock8877 Report

#15

Lets Use Paper Straws And Wrap Them In Plastic

Lets Use Paper Straws And Wrap Them In Plastic

Throwawayanonymoussi Report

ADVERTISEMENT

“No one aims for failure. People almost never expect to fail. This makes learning from failure cognitively difficult because people tend to overlook contradictory or unexpected information.” In addition, when we feel defeated, we might start losing capacity and control. Therefore, it further diminishes our commitment and reduces the odds of success in the future.

#16

To Not Tread On Snek

To Not Tread On Snek

CinemaslaveJoe Report

#17

A 2000-Year-Old Giant Cat Geoglyph Was Discovered 4 Months Ago Amid Peru's Famous Nazca Lines, A Unesco World Heritage Site [1600x1176]

A 2000-Year-Old Giant Cat Geoglyph Was Discovered 4 Months Ago Amid Peru's Famous Nazca Lines, A Unesco World Heritage Site [1600x1176]

Fuckoff555 Report

#18

To Connect With The Youth

To Connect With The Youth

sdghag Report

What’s more, learning from a negative experience like a failure is a more demanding task than taking something away from success, which tires our cognitive system that has adapted to save energy. 

“For failure to be informative, people need to deduce what an incorrect response teaches about the correct response. Learning by elimination requires more mental effort. Because people are cognitive misers, they struggle to see the information in failure more than the information in success.”

ADVERTISEMENT
#19

Looks Like Harry Potter Will Be Joining The Poo Klux Klan

Looks Like Harry Potter Will Be Joining The Poo Klux Klan

byrobot Report

#20

An Attempt To Check The Box

An Attempt To Check The Box

Davidseptidog Report

#21

To Shoot Their Shot

To Shoot Their Shot

El-Inquisidor Report

However, there’s a way to improve our chances of learning from our mistakes, despite the inborn emotional and cognitive barriers. The first strategy that the authors propose is to remove the ego from failure. This can be done by learning from other people’s mistakes that we’re not personally and emotionally involved in. Another option is to work up our ego so it can withstand the possibility of failure. Improving our competence, knowledge, and expertise is a great way to do it. That’s why experts are often better at learning from failure, as they’re less threatened by it.

#22

This ā€œDisable Friendlyā€ Ramp

This ā€œDisable Friendlyā€ Ramp

armando2311 Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#23

To Pass Inspection

To Pass Inspection

spierce21 Report

#24

New Dino Discovered

New Dino Discovered

altorelievo Report

To overcome the cognitive barriers, it may be useful to eliminate any tasks that may overload our brains. This means putting more time and practice into learning from failure instead of trying to juggle five other things at the same time.

#25

My Nana Said Her Laptop Hasnā€™t Charged For Over A Month, And When I Looked To See The Problem, I Saw She Had Plugged An iPhone 4 Charger Into The SD Card Slot

My Nana Said Her Laptop Hasnā€™t Charged For Over A Month, And When I Looked To See The Problem, I Saw She Had Plugged An iPhone 4 Charger Into The SD Card Slot

winter_fax_machine Report

#26

To Take A Nice Christmas Picture With My Cat

To Take A Nice Christmas Picture With My Cat

kaitie-babie Report

#27

To Make A Belle Cake

To Make A Belle Cake

Chileansuperstar Report

In general, learning from failure is important, but it doesn’t happen without effort. Training ourselves to overcome the emotional and cognitive hurdles helps us reflect on our lessons and improves the odds of success. 

ADVERTISEMENT
#28

This Is How My Son Locked The Door When He Left

This Is How My Son Locked The Door When He Left

reddit.com Report

#29

Boyfriend Tried To Wash A Down Pillow

Boyfriend Tried To Wash A Down Pillow

splanderson Report

#30

To Call Someone By His Last Name

To Call Someone By His Last Name

the5thofjack Report

#31

To Recreate Homer

To Recreate Homer

Dinglemaniac Report

#32

To Get A Raise

To Get A Raise

cryme_ariver Report

See Also on Bored Panda
#33

To Draw Elon Musk

To Draw Elon Musk

giuchiac07 Report

#34

To Communicate Why They Are Closed

To Communicate Why They Are Closed

voiceofnoone Report

#35

To Avoid Starbucks

To Avoid Starbucks

CinemaslaveJoe Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#36

To Inspire At The Gym

To Inspire At The Gym

0430MilkCows Report

#37

To Get A Driverā€™s License

To Get A Driverā€™s License

GamehengeRanger Report

#38

Wrong Kind Of Pride

Wrong Kind Of Pride

SlitWrit Report

#39

He's Not Helping

He's Not Helping

luddite-dave Report

#40

To Build A Wall

To Build A Wall

Stoney7642 Report

#41

Saw This On A Walk Today

Saw This On A Walk Today

bethanyflowerpots Report

#42

To Summon Picasso

To Summon Picasso

Satansownboi Report

#43

To Verify Age

To Verify Age

reddit.com Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#44

To Spell The Word Peace

To Spell The Word Peace

gothangelblood Report

#45

To Motivate

To Motivate

maa2148 Report

#46

Eat Pant By Mart Timpson

Eat Pant By Mart Timpson

pocketsies Report

#47

The "Grilled Cheese Reuben" I Spent $15 And And Over An Hour Waiting For

The "Grilled Cheese Reuben" I Spent $15 And And Over An Hour Waiting For

Antennaball23 Report

#48

To Make A Yo Momma Joke

To Make A Yo Momma Joke

Opossum535 Report

#49

Tlirkey And Hlimmlis

Tlirkey And Hlimmlis

FFJosty Report

#50

To Sell Avengers Toys

To Sell Avengers Toys

reddit.com Report

Note: this post originally had 72 images. Itā€™s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda