The Truth about Mistakes

“If you don't risk failure again and again, you'll never enjoy true success.”
Steve Pavlina

We all make mistakes in our lives however some tend to do it more often than others. And I purpose that those who make the most mistakes are often the most successful. Why? Because making mistakes means taking risks and challenging ourselves. Making mistakes means we are trying to do better, and during this process we gain valuable experience and judgment.

Now what I’m not saying is that we should purposely make bad choices or mistakes to try to learn and experience different things in life. Rather on the contrary, what I am saying is we need to make decisions. These decisions should be the best decisions based on our limited knowledge. Does that mean they will be the right decision? Probably no more often than not, however when we avoid making decisions because we do not want to make a mistake, we limit our opportunities to learn, to grow, and to be successful.

In fact, those who are most successful in life have learned to fail. It is ok for successful people to fail because they know how it helps them learn and grow. They don’t beat themselves up or dwell on the mistake, but rather they are able to move on with greater understanding and knowledge. They realize that failure will not kill them and that it is much better to try and to fail then to not try at all.

Now, one way to help us in our decision making is to think about the person we want to become. We must ask ourselves, would our ideal person do this? Thinking about who we want to be and then asking ourselves what that person would do in any given situation will provide guidance as we make tough choices in life.

Also, remember that we all make stupid mistakes in our lives because often what we think to be the best decision at the time is not. The fact that we made the decision alone proves we have courage and confidence sufficient to make a choice and then learn from it. This ability will lead to success in life.

Life’s challenges give us experience and allow us to learn and to grow. We must take risks and move forward toward our goals making the best decisions we can based on our limited knowledge. If we learn to accept failure, learn from it, and then try again and again, we will be successful.