"Un error no es algo que deba determinarse después del hecho, sino a la luz de la información disponible hasta ese punto."

So, here’s the deal with this quote. It's about understanding mistakes in context. We often beat ourselves up over decisions that didn’t pan out, but this quote is reminding us that a mistake should be judged by the information we had at the time, not by the outcome.

Think about it. Imagine you're at a fork in the road with two paths. You choose the left one because it looks well-trodden and you heard a couple of hikers say it leads to a beautiful viewpoint. Halfway down, you trip over a rock and twist your ankle. Was choosing the left path a mistake? At first glance, it might seem like it. But if you consider the info you had when you made the choice, it was a reasonable decision.

Let’s time travel a bit to give this some context. During World War II, military commanders often had to make split-second decisions with the information at hand. Sometimes those decisions led to unexpected losses. Were those commanders making mistakes? Not necessarily. They were acting based on the best intelligence they had at that moment. It’s easy for us, looking back with the luxury of hindsight, to see things they couldn’t.

Now, let’s talk real life. Picture a startup founder. She’s deciding whether to pivot her company’s focus based on early customer feedback. She has no crystal ball to see the future. She makes the call to pivot. A year later, the company fails. Did she mess up? According to our quote, not so fast. She made a calculated decision with the data she had. It’s all about context.

So how do we use this wisdom? First, cut yourself some slack. We’re all just doing our best with the cards we’re dealt. Next time you’re faced with a tough choice, gather your facts, weigh your options, and then commit. If things don’t work out, don’t dwell on the hindsight. Remember, you did what you could with what you knew.

Here’s a scenario to bring it home. Imagine you’re in charge of organizing a big outdoor event. You check the weather forecast religiously—it’s supposed to be sunny. On the day of the event, it pours rain. Your guests are soaked, and you feel like you’ve failed. But let’s rewind. Based on the forecast, setting up outdoors was a solid plan. You can’t control the weather. It’s like the quote says, you didn’t make a mistake with the information you had.

In the end, it’s about being kinder to ourselves and others. We’re all navigating life with imperfect information. So let’s make our decisions thoughtfully and accept the outcomes with grace. After all, hindsight is 20/20, but we live in the now.