Making Mistakes

The word “mistakes” has many different meanings. The optimists call it “experiences” while the pessimists put them in a book and call them “memoirs”. Some mistakes can be corrected and easily forgotten – they usually have small consequences or no consequences at all. Some mistakes take time to heal – the consequences are greater and longer lasting. Some mistakes can never be reversed – the consequence is permanent.

There are different types of mistakes.

• Panic-driven mistakes – mistakes that we make out of fear, hurry or worry;
• Well-intentioned mistakes – mistakes that we make while trying to do right but at the wrong time or in the wrong way;
• Negligent mistakes – mistakes made as a result of laziness, lack of discipline or inconsistency;
• Blind-spot mistakes – mistakes which we commit because of ignorance, habit or some character weakness and often not even aware that we are making them.
  

“Right” or “good” mistakes can pave the road to achievement. A novice cook who aims to be a good chef makes mistakes and has to learn from the mistakes made to improve the taste of his dishes. It is only by pushing himself to make new errors will he discover just the right balance for an appetising dish. Such mistakes are “good mistakes” and making them at a higher level of functioning is a sign of growth. But, let's say you’re 20 and have never smoked a cigarette and then you start to smoke, you’re not progressing. You’re making new mistakes at a lower level, not higher. That’s worse than standing still.

To live is to make mistakes. It is human natural to make mistakes. Making mistakes is as natural as drinking water and breathing air. A mistake is not a failure. It is, in fact, the foundation for learning. A mistake is an opportunity to find out what work for you – and what doesn’t. Making mistakes is the “wake up call” part of the learning process.

Mistakes are not only the best teachers in life, they are also the portals of discovery. Doing things wrong is perhaps the only source of innovation. Think about it. What did you learn by doing something right the first time?

Mistakes are stepping stones to success. People who make no mistakes lack the boldness and the spirit of adventure. They are the brakes on the wheels of progress. That is why the saying goes that while one person hesitates because he feels inferior, another is busy making mistakes and becoming superior. Thus, it would be a mistake to try to avoid all mistakes. Indeed, it would be a colossal blunder to attempt doing things right the first time, every time.

Mistakes are survivable experiences and are to be expected in life. None of us is exempted from making mistakes. It thus helps to learn from our mistakes. Learn to live with all your mistakes, without suffering. Use your internal critic to alert you of a coming mistake but don’t allow it to influence your mood or raise your stress level.

If you have goofed in a big way recently, it’s still not the end of the world. Everyone makes mistakes, it is what you do afterwards that counts. We cannot become experts or achieve that state of knowledgeable experience unless we have learnt to differentiate between what works and what does not. How can we possibly find the right direction unless we have wandered along at least a few dark alleys first?

Those who fear making mistakes see an opportunity as a risk and a challenge as a problem. Seeing mistakes from this distorted lens makes us feel inadequate, helpless, frightened and discouraged.

The next time you make a serious blunder, don’t let your devastation kill you. Mistakes are painful when they happen but years later this collection of mistakes is what we call experience. Even if you seem to be making mistake after mistake, this is still nothing to continually worry over.

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honourable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” – George Bernard Shaw.

In fact, some of the best lessons we ever learn are learnt from past mistakes. The error of the past is the wisdom and success of the future. In a nutshell, mistake is the bridge between inexperience and true wisdom.