I am 53 now and sometime think forward to some dangers of getting older. I read a few years ago that Tai Chi exercises improve balance enough to significantly reduce falls that can sometimes break older bones. I don’t know where to find time for Tai Chi itself in my schedule, so I cut corners. I just do a daily set of deep knee bends balanced on one foot: 18 reps on the right leg, and 20 reps on the left leg, because that one is weaker and needs more strengthening. I had a pretty tough time getting so I could do that many repetitions without toppling over again and again and having to catch myself with my hands. But gradually, gradually, I could do a few more repetitions in a row before toppling over, until now I don’t have too much trouble doing 18 or 20 in a row.

I think of this as a good analogy for a lot of learning: making mistakes and carefully correcting them, over and over again, until very gradually the number of mistakes diminishes. If you aren’t willing to fall–many times–in order to learn, you will fail.