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The Truth About Mistakes
From the time we are young children, we are often told to not do certain things to avoid making unnecessary mistakes.
“Don’t run with your shoes untied! You’ll trip and fall.”
“Don’t run through the house! You’ll break something.”
Can you remember being scolded for not listening? Or for actually breaking something in the house even when your mom or dad warned you not to run?
Remarks like these are well intentioned and intended for our safety and well-being.
However, as we continue to make mistakes into our adulthood and beyond, we often still associate mistakes with being needless and unnecessary experiences that we could do without entirely in our lives.
While there are those mistakes that we could have lived without (e.g., trying to cut your own hair or sending a sexy text to the wrong person), the vast majority of our mistakes are experiences and life lessons that are definitely worth embracing.
Why?
Because every time you make a mistake, you’re given the invaluable opportunity to learn something new, to become wiser, to grow stronger, and to learn more about yourself and who you really are.
There can be no Success without Failure
Some of the greatest, most successful people in history had a string of mistakes and failures that ultimately led them to their successes.
Thomas Edison was actually told by his teachers that he was “too stupid to learn anything,” but went on to hold over 1,000 patents.
Abraham Lincoln failed in multiple business ventures before he decided to enter into politics. And once he entered the political realm, he endured even more failed attempts at gaining a political office before he became President.
Walt Disney was told by his former newspaper editor that he “lacked imagination,” but then went on to become one of the greatest cultural icons.
And J.K. Rowling lived well below the poverty line as a broke, divorced, single mother while she was writing what turned out to be one of the greatest fantasy series of all time.
All of these successful figures and more had one thing in common: they didn’t let their mistakes, their shortcomings, or their less-than-ideal circumstances hold them back. Instead, they embraced their personal challenges and mistakes and decided that they would only try harder because of their failures.
Think about it. How many times have you let a mistake or failure hold you back from trying again? How many times have you let a mistake define you as a person?
Think of all the things you could do if you decided to look at your mistakes differently, and if you decided to view them as valuable life lessons. Think of what you could accomplish if you learned how to embrace mistakes.
You wouldn’t let self-doubt hold you back.
You probably wouldn’t care as much, if at all, about what other people thought.
You would be that much tougher and wiser the next time you tried.
And you wouldn’t see your mistakes as unnecessary, needless blunders. In fact, you probably wouldn’t even dwell on those mistakes, except maybe to reflect and better prepare you for the next attempt.
However, learning to view your mistakes differently is a lot easier said than done. Many of us have deeply engrained perceptions of mistakes and failures that are difficult, but certainly not impossible, to overcome.
Learning how to embrace your mistakes will take a little bit of practice, but it’s definitely worth the extra effort. Learn how to embrace your mistakes and failures with these 6 steps.
6 Steps to Embrace and Learn from Your Mistakes
1. Let go of your need to be perfect. Humans are imperfect creatures, so why are you trying so hard to do everything perfectly? Let go of your inner perfectionist, and accept the fact that you’re going to mess up. Everyone makes mistakes, and you will, too.
2. Find the lesson in the mistake. Rather than dwelling on how you made a mistake and beating yourself up over it, identify the lesson within the mistake. Maybe you gave a presentation at work today that didn’t hook the audience quite like you thought it would, so what could you do differently next time? Or maybe you pulled a bold, risky move with a business you’re trying to start up, but it didn’t go as you planned. What did you learn? What insights can you pull from that mistake to use towards your next attempt?
3. Note what you gained from the mistake. When you make a mistake, it’s easy to focus more on how much time and effort you supposedly “wasted,” rather than focusing on what you actually learned and gained from the mistake. Once you’ve identified the lesson within the mistake, take note of what you gained from the experience. To learn how to embrace mistakes, write down all the insights you garnered. Maybe you now know how to better craft your message based on the type of audience you’re working with. Maybe the risk you took with your business venture illuminated another potential option that you can try next time. By focusing on what you gained rather than what you think you lost by trying, you’re actually changing your mindset to see mistakes as stepping-stones, rather than permanent roadblocks.
4. Ask MORE questions. Often when we make a mistake, we limit our ability to learn from it by asking only self-critical questions like, “What did I do wrong?” “Why do I keep messing up?” Instead of focusing on questions like these, ask yourself questions like, “What can I do differently the next time?” “How can I take this experience and make it a launch pad for the next experience?” Deeper, reflective questions like these are not only more empowering, but they’ll also help lead you to valuable self-discoveries.
5. Resist the urge to compare yourself to others. It’s all too easy to get distracted by how or what others are doing when we make a mistake. They’re already so much more successful than me, and they’re younger than I am! I’ll never reach my goals. Don’t fall into this tricky mind game with yourself by comparing your own perceived failures with others’ successes. Failures and mistakes are integral, necessary components on the path to success. EVERYONE has endured mistakes to get to where they are. Rather than comparing yourself to others, seek inspiration and motivation from their successes.
6. Remind yourself that only you can hold yourself back. Self-doubt and self-criticisms are the greatest internal obstacles you’ll face on your way to success. It’s important to remember that doubts are just that: doubts. They hold no truth or validity of who you are and what you can or cannot accomplish. Self-doubts are a form of fear that your mind uses as a means of self-protection. Recognize that fear is an innate, human emotion, but that doesn’t mean you should let your fears control your mind and your ability to move forward.
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