Mistakes Are Good!

Intro: Reflecting on my own experiences, I've certainly encountered my fair share of mistakes. While they've spanned various aspects of life—work, personal, and social—I've come to realize that mistakes are an inevitable part of the human experience. In fact, some research suggests we can make up to 500 mistakes in a single day!

So, why then do I claim that mistakes are good? Well, let me explain.

If we never made mistakes, we would never learn:

Just like the first time we all tried to ride a bike or even just tried to walk, mistakes were key in the learning process. Maybe, for example, when you first tried to walk, you leaned forward too much and fell over. So, you try to lean back but this time, you lean back too much and fall over again. Over and over you would try until eventually, you could walk. The trial and error of getting something right can be frustrating, it can make you feel like you are useless at certain tasks. Everyone has to go through the initial phase of failure. However, as you may know , eventually you will master the skill once you go through all the initial failings.

Encourages Discovery:

As mentioned above, trial and error is paramount in the discovery of new skills and new knowledge. Failure is what allows us to discover these unknown attributes; if we were always scared of making mistakes, we would never learn anything new. So, don't be afraid to fail, it's a necessary step in the journey to discover. This isn't limited to your social life or your work life; it is an important factor across all of life. It is the evolution of success. Think to animals, they evolve over time, trial and error over millions and millions of years with the strongest genes surviving. Similar with our own failures, the things we will succeed in will be our greatest assets.

Develops empathy:

Due to us all experiencing failure, we can therefore understand the emotions we feel better when we do fail. Whether it's a mistake of small proportions or much larger, mistakes allow us to develop empathy and compassion for one another as we have all been there before. This can be extremely beneficial when making connections with others in work or outside of work. Having empathy for others can help us all understand each other's emotions with a new light of compassion.

Gives Us Perspective:

When I make a mistake, I tend to feel annoyed that I couldn't get it right, frustrated that I'll have to try it again, and disappointed at the time it's taking me. However, when I feel like this I try to remember that everything happens for a reason. Whether you believe in this or not, you can imagine how your life might have led you down a completely different path if you didn't make that mistake and you got it first time. What if the small mistake you made has actually prevented you from making a bigger one down the road? For example, when I was learning to drive with my dad in the car, I remember pulling out of a junction to turn left. I assumed that by looking right and it being clear, I was good to go. I started to set off until my dad yelled at me to brake. I broke and a car came whizzing past on my side of the road while trying to overtake another car. If my dad hadn't yelled, I wouldn't have realized and potentially caused a bad crash. Since then, I always look both ways when coming out of a junction. The silver lining in this mistake is that it may have prevented a dangerous car crash in the future if I hadn't had experienced it when I did.

What Next:

So, what should you take away from this? The next time you make a mistake, remember the 3 things I just spoke about. Mistakes give us perspective, are necessary for growth and they allow us to develop empathy for one another.

I encourage you to embrace mistakes, learn from them, and develop the perspective that making mistakes aren't bad; they are great for your growth!

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SunTide