topic: [[Learning]] created: 2023-06-20 *Learning from people or situations that are the most successful is just as good as (maybe better?) than learning from failure.* This reminds me of [[Appreciative Inquiry]] and the goal of focusing on the positives because [[you amplify what you focus on]]. It's kind of like [[balancing statistics]], using positive outliers as well as negatives to learn. **positive deviance** (PD) is an approach to behavioral and social change. It is based on the idea that, within a community, some individuals engage in unusual behaviors allowing them to solve problems better than others who face similar challenges, despite not having additional resources or knowledge. These individuals are referred to as positive deviants.The concept first appeared in nutrition research in the 1970s. Researchers observed that, despite the poverty in a community, some families had well-nourished children. Some suggested using information gathered from these outliers to plan nutrition programs. > [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive%20deviance) > This matters because like in [[Safety I and Safety II]], if we only use the negatives to learn, we miss out on a huge part of the world. ##### What would the opposite argument be? Its better to work your weaknesses to become more well rounded, then to work your strengths. But, [[Barbells make you stronger]], you can make big gains on either end! tags: #note/idea | #on/imitation #on/work #on/change ##### Sources: Originally introduced to me by [Cole Zanetti](https://www.linkedin.com/in/colezanetti/), the power of positive deviance is a powerful idea that I have been pursuing since.