It is essential for you to learn from your mistakes or you better get prepared to fail again and again. Not the perfect recipe for a successful life.
Jules Verne said, “Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make because they lead little by little to the truth.”
Science shows us that mistakes, once systematically reviewed can be corrected, and life is no different. What is essential, is for us to accept we make mistakes. Not to be ashamed of them. Not to try and pretend they didn’t happen. If we recognise our mistakes, we can then learn from them. If we don’t then we will repeat them, probably time and time again.
Everybody makes mistakes, it’s inevitable, it’s part of life. In fact, it’s through our mistakes that we obtain the experiences and insight that allow us to succeed. If we allow ourselves too.
Some people have a hard time admitting it when they make a mistake. However, successful people will always recognize when they’ve made a mistake. They look at what they’ve done, think it through, learn from it, grow and then move on. They know that if they ignore a mistake, they will undoubtedly repeat it and allow that to be what shapes their future.
Mistakes are a necessary stop, not the final destination.
“It’s fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
Bill Gates
Throughout my life I have made a multitude of mistakes, I’m pleased that I did because I came away with some important lessons, lessons that showed me the way forward, clearly demonstrating the changes that would lead to the success I desired. Lessons learned from the mistakes we make are some of the most invaluable lessons we can acquire.
“If you make a mistake, be big enough to admit to the mistake. People will think much better if you make an admission after a mistake.”
Keith Boyer; Matt Riley, Psychology and The Art of Persuasion Box Set
Every time you make a mistake rather than ignoring it you need to analyse it. Stop and ask yourself these questions.
• What happened?
• Every mistake you make ask yourself these questions:
• Why did I make this mistake?
• Is it not knowing something? What don’t you know?
• What did it teach me? What did I learn from it?
• What do I need to do so that I never make it again?
• How do I fix it?
• How will I prevent this in the future?
• What’s one key takeaway from this experience?
“The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything. Do not be afraid to make mistakes providing you do not make the same one twice.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Just remember mistakes are to be learned from. Just make sure you are brave enough to own up to your own mistakes and be willing to analyse them deeply so you can find yourself solutions.
What I know as a coach is to many of you go on to repeat your mistakes time after time, and maybe over a long period of time. Only when it is to late do you finally recognise the mistake you keep making, but by then its done unrepairable damage. In fact when life seems to have gone nowhere, only then do you work out that it was because of this mistake you kept making, which if you’d recognised it early enough you could and would have shaped things so differently. Most people tend to move on from their mistakes without looking back, but this just deprives them the opportunity to carry out the crucial exercise of understanding what went wrong.
Don’t be someone that leaves it to late and begin recognising the mistakes you are making. From this moment forward analyse everything you do to spot your mistakes and put things right. I strongly suggest to my coaching clients that every week they take 30 minutes to review the week just gone. Recognise what went right but also what went wrong. For the things that went wrong, go through the questions above and get it sorted,
“A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new.”
Albert Einstein
By learning from your mistakes you will be giving yourself the key to success.
Let me give you my strategy which ensures I always learn from my mistakes so you can from yours. Like the advice I give my clients, I review my week just gone every Sunday. For 30 minutes I lock myself away and analyse everything.
I ask myself what mistakes have I made? If I find any, I accept them for what they are, mistakes I’ve made. I take ownership for them. I don’t deny responsibility or find someone or something to blame. Again I then go through the above questions. I refuse to allow the possible negativity to set in. I’ve held up my hands to the mistake and know that now I can work out what best to do. So I don’t kick myself or criticise myself and I certainly don’t feel sorry for myself or bring myself down. Why would I when I’m being big enough to admit to what has been and now am dealing with it. In fact that’s something to be proud of.
This is a sign of a ‘growth mindset.’ Which is essential to your future of success and happiness.
Always try to identify the skills, knowledge, resources, or tools that will keep you from repeating the mistake and better still doing what it is you want in the right way.
In order to make real progress in life, it’s important to remember that mistakes are part of our human nature. You make mistakes, and therefore you can also unmake them. As long as you learn from every experience and are willing to adapt and change your course of action, then you too will consistently make progress.
“It’s okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers – they help us to learn.”
John Bradshaw
What was your biggest mistake & what did you learn from it? Remember a key to a successful life is to learn from your mistakes.
