Why doing stupid things is good for you.

Mistakes. Everyone makes them. They’re a vital learning experience.

You are unlikely to do something again, that you regret. If someone tells you not to do something you will probably do it. The reason for this is that when you do something you’re not meant too, it gives ones self the satisfaction of rebelling against an authority. Society needs something to fight. That’s how its people grow.

Therefore the best way to get someone to do something is to encourage them not to do it. Then, when they do it, they will be satisfied. They will assume that they earned it.

If you do something stupid, I would assume that you know the consequences involved.

Young children understand this concept the best. Their mother will tell them that they can’t have a chocolate chip cookie. This makes them angry/sad/upset and any other adjectives you would use to describe an unhappy child. They will argue with you, and you will say no.

This will result in them using their prefrontal cortex to conjure a plan. Don’t worry, this is a good thing. The prefrontal cortex is used in problem solving and decision making. And all of this, for a chocolate chip cookie. Do you know why? Because chocolate chip cookies are awesome.

As a child grows, so does their prefrontal cortex, and it needs to be exercised. These early stage developments are vital for future endeavours.

The child, by this time, will have created a fully fledged plan to get his cookie. He will execute it, get his cookie, and get caught. You will punish him for disobeying you. (This is one of the fundamentals that our world relies on to exist.) But he will be proud of what he did. He will feel a sense of accomplishment. (Another fundamental.)

People grow from their accomplishments, learn from their mistakes, and are born to rebel.