Simulations As a Learning Tool

Photo by Tim Cooper on Unsplash

It’s common to hear people complain that too many of us are living in virtual reality, rather than the real world.

And while losing ourselves in social media, entertainment or video games may be a nice way to decompress, we can also step outside of reality to improve ourselves. 

The simulation is one of the most powerful, yet overlooked, learning tools available to us.

This could include a flight simulator, a scrimmage, a mock congress, a moot court or other realistic training scenarios.

In each case, we are learning to apply newly acquired skills in a controlled environment where mistakes can be safely made without irreversible consequences.

Simulations allow us to reach the limits of our abilities and, sometimes, to experience a degree of the stress we might feel in a real situation.

This stress inoculation helps us learn to work through the stress, think on our feet and to apply our training more effectively.

The only thing that holds most of us back from doing this type of training is an unwillingness to let go of our ego and to be willing to fail as we learn.

When we have taken the time to learn and train, especially for the unexpected, we have options that allow us to take action—even if imperfectly.

Simulations are less of an escape from reality and more of an opportunity to expand our collection of tools with which we can improve the world.

Never pass up a chance to acquire new skills.