It’s natural for humans to want to avoid mistakes. Everyone prefers to appear that they have it all together and that nothing ever goes wrong.
But, it does. Life happens and being perfect just doesn’t exist. You can look like you have it all together on the outside, but you know you’re barely holding it together on the inside.
Mistakes aren’t little things that get in the way of your progress. You may not like it when things don’t go as planned, but it’s essential to your self-improvement.
What Are Mistakes?
Mistakes are little instances that you don’t expect to happen. Even when you’re doing your best, something can still go wrong.
While riding a bike, you don’t expect to fall, but once you figure out how it happened, you make it a point to keep it from happening again.
When you fell off of your bike, you discovered that your shoe strings were too long and got caught in the pedal. Next time, you stuff your shoe strings inside of your shoe, to prevent from falling again. Lesson learned.
A simple person would have stopped riding bikes, altogether. Rather than facing the challenge and finding a better way, they shrink back into their comfortable space.
Understand that simple mistakes like this will arise, but it’s up to you to figure it out, so you can keep moving forward.
Mistakes Give Direction
Some people don’t know how to handle mistakes. They become angry and take the easy way out by giving up.
Mistakes are not a sign to give up, but a sign to change direction or course correct. This is an important part of the process, because it allows room for improvement, as you go along.
Imagine if you gave up, every time you made a mistake. You wouldn’t achieve anything in life. Being lazy would be your highest standard.
When mistakes happen, it’s like a GPS telling you which way to go. Even a GPS will re-route when you go in the wrong direction. It doesn’t stop working just because you took a wrong turn. It searches for another way to get to your destination.
Other People’s Reactions
One of the biggest reasons why we don’t like making mistakes, or admitting to them, is fear of what other people think.
People are insecure. They will give any type of reaction that makes you feel small and not-so-smart. They want the attention to be on you and not on the mistakes that they make.
When they laugh about it, laugh with them. Don’t let it make you feel insignificant. Once you learn from your mistake and keep going, they won’t be laughing anymore.
Learn To Adjust
Your mind is your greatest asset. Use it to it’s full capacity – that’s what it’s for. Having the ability to adjust when things go south is a fundamental trait to possess.
Instead of being discouraged when something doesn’t go right, take the time to see what happened and how you can improve upon the outcome for next time. Have a ‘can do’ attitude when it comes to solving issues, even when it’s unexpected.
Treat your mistakes as your teachers, because they are. Without them, you would go around in a circle, staying within your comfort zone. They show you the path that leads to success. All you have to do is be confident, make corrections and follow through.
