The Picard Principle

Hi,

This week’s email is about a principle that’s important to keep in mind as you go through various challenges in life.

The information here comes from my article on the topic.

Here are the key practical points you should know:

• The Picard principle is the adage 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.

• An example of the Picard principle is that you can submit a strong application for a job, and get rejected because the person who assessed the application already had a preferred candidate in mind.

• This principle can help you assess situations more rationally and cope with negative emotions, for instance when you would otherwise criticize yourself too harshly for a failure that wasn’t your fault.

• The risks of this principle are that it can lead you to avoid taking responsibility in cases where you should, and that it can cause feelings of frustration and helplessness.

I named this principle after the Star Trek character Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who presented this principle in an episode of the show.

As always, I'm happy to hear your thoughts.

Have a great week,
Itamar