Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Mistakes Can Be a Gift

Mistakes Can Be a Gift

"It is not our mistakes that define Who we are;

it is how we recover From those mistakes." Bo Bennet


1. Avoid being a perfectionist.

• A perfectionist is driven by “ fear of failure."

• Someone striving for excellence is driven by a "desire for success."

• Being afraid to make a mistake will create a mental barrier for taking risks.

2. Learn to apologize for hurting someone's feelings.

• Quickly admit when you are wrong.

• Explore what you can do to prevent the same problem from occurring again.

• A sincere apology can go a long way to restore trust.

3. Don't dwell on the mistake; move forward and let it go!

• Accept that the mistake was made and can't be changed.

• Think about what you can learn from the mistake; how to avoid it in the future?

4. Don't waste time trying to justify mistakes.

• Our natural instinct is to try to justify our actions.

• People are rarely interested in excuses.

5. Understand why the mistake pattern is repeating.

• Did it happen when you were angry? Do you need to work on anger management?

• Did it happen because you were overwhelmed? Would you benefit from learning new ways to relax?

• Did it happen because of a bad habit? Can you change the habit and avoid making the same mistake?

6. Discover that mistakes are opportunities to learn.

You can gain wisdom and self-confidence from analyzing mistakes.

You may discover a new strategy for the future

Even though you didn't get the exact result you wanted, at least you tried