Experience can be either a good or bad teacher.

The Good:

It can allow us to make better choices; that is, learn from our experience. Examples come easily to mind such as learning a task or skill. It can teach us what to avoid or what to pay attention to.

The Bad:

It can limit us is in what we allow to be possible for ourselves. We tried something and we had a bad experience. We hesitate to take a new opportunity because it is similar to one that in the past didn't work out for us.

We have a great desire to eliminate problems because when we have no problems by default then we would be happy. The higher the emotional level attached to the experience the more we classify it as black or white.

If we more closely examine our experiences we might find that they are usually a mixture of good and bad. Wisdom could be said to be when we realize that everything is shades of gray depending on our perceptions.

"Live out of your imagination, not your history."

Learn from our experiences but don't allow them to dictate a future less than we could have.