Why making mistakes is no bad thing and can make your life
even better
The word “mistake” can often lead to fear of either making one or
feeling silly because we made one. But the thing is we've all made them. Its no
coincidence that the sayings “to err is human” or “live and learn” are used so frequently!
Believe it or not
mistakes can be a truly positive force in our lives…..honestly! Want to know
why? Read on……
Making mistakes shows
that we are normal functioning human beings. We all do it. If we didn’t there
would be something very wrong with us! Furthermore, if we didn't we wouldn’t
be very interesting people as we wouldn’t be trying anything new ever. As
George Bernard Shaw stated;
“A life spent making mistakes is not only
more honourable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing”
In reality, making mistakes are a great test
of our character and can help us push ourselves to be everything we can be. If we
err and endeavour to try again we can make things/situations better. When we
are able to accept we got it wrong and not be too proud to have another go, or
find a new way to solve the problem, we really find out just who we are. The
question is are you a quitter or a winner?
My Mum has always
drummed into me that its okay to make a mistake as long as you don’t keep
repeating it! That takes courage to try a new approach that may still, at
that point in time,not bring the solution and lead to another mistake. What it does
do is rather than bringing failure, as many mistakes are seen, it brings incredibly
valuable learning! Thomas Eddison was fond of saying ;
“Ive not failed. I just found 10,000 ways
that wont work” and,
Nobel Prize winner,
Neils Bohr said;
“An expert in a field is a person who has
made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field”.
I really love what Bohr
says, and he is right. Have you noticed that the people I have quoted today are
those who have become great and respected in their individual fields? Think
about their message. If we don’t make mistakes we are not learning and cannot
become brilliant. If you do not make mistakes your life is a dull non-existence.
We all hear the phrase “personal
growth” every day. Many of us are searching for it. Well, lets start with
understanding that personal growth comes
from having made and continuing to make mistakes.
Personal growth requires
integrity, to be inspirational to others and live life fully. Those attributes
will only come from trying new things, some of which we might get wrong or are
the wrong choices for us. As you can see making mistakes is essential in life.
What have I learned
from my mistakes?
I disliked school intensely
and whilst my results were good they weren’t a patch on what they could have
been. I returned to education at 29 and
began a journey in Law and Education up to Masters level and being appointed as Head Teacher. I worked so damned hard at university and through out my career
as I had learned that education was, for me, incredibly important and without it I
would be frustrated as no one took me seriously. Added benefits were that my
children walked with me throughout this time as did my husband. I'd like to
think it showed them that it is never tooo late I life to address mistakes and
change your life.
Making a mistake does
not make you a failure, stupid, idiotic or any of the other harsh words or
phrases we tell ourselves. Next time we make one we need to stand back and
remind ourselves we are good people trying to do good things, we are infallible
but can face our fears of failure, and vow not to repeat the same behaviours and expect a
different outcome.
Who is with me? I'm going
to be much kinder to myself this year and stop chastising myself. Onwards and
upwards! Alexander Popes 1711 poem, from which we often quote, is about not only erring as being human but to treat those who make mistakes as God would by forgiving them. That surely applies to forgiving yourself too?
Ah ne'er so dire a Thirst of Glory boast,
Nor in the Critick let the Man be lost!
Good-Nature and Good-Sense must ever join;
To err is Humane; to Forgive, Divine.
To err is Humane; to Forgive, Divine.
Have a fabulous week and remember , you are not stupid you are just on life's learning curve!
Why not join our fun private group on Facebook. It's perfect for women over 50 who
Refuse to be invisible!
Namaste
Janie S xxx
Founder www.savvynsassy.net
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