SEE MISTAKES AS UNIQUE LESSONS INSTEAD OF REGRETS
Regrets…
You probably have had lots of them.
“I wish I was more diligent while at school.
I’d have climbed the corporate ladder faster.”
“Why didn’t I take our relationship more seriously?
We’d have been happily married by now.”
“I wish I could turn back the hands of the clock.
I wouldn’t have made the mistakes that killed that venture.”
Regrets…
who doesn’t indulge in them now and then?
It’s true.
You haven’t attained the height you aspire to.
So it’s true.
You are still trying to sort out your life,
yet age is no longer on your side.
But these are past mistakes, errors, and failures, right?
Why not confine them to the past where they belong?
Why do you keep dredging them up?
Why should you continue to beat
up yourself because of them?
Here are some famous opinions about regrets.
“You don't learn to walk by following rules.
You learn by doing and by falling over.”
- Richard Branson
“Anyone who has never made
a mistake has never tried anything new.”
- Albert Einstein
“Don’t waste a good mistake, learn from it.”
- Robert Kiyosaki
In other words, learn from your mistakes.
Don’t dwell on them.
Failure makes you realize you
were poorly prepared for that project.
It means you still have to
acquire new knowledge.
A letdown lets you know you need to get new skills.
Or improve on what you have.
How do you look at mistakes?
This will tell you how fast you can learn from them.
And, then, move ahead.
A mistake gives you the opportunity
to learn better about yourself.
It shows you how you were unable
to relate theory to practice;
it gauges your knowledge,
and it shows how well you can perform.
This should make you prepare better for
the next chance.
Napoleon Hill captured this point succinctly when he said,
“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries
with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit’.
Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results has been defined as insanity.
It is the same when you repeatedly analyze your situation.
You are living a life of regrets while expecting better outcomes.
Accept the mistake.
Learn from it.
Then, move on.
A wise person does not make the same mistake twice.
The former US President, Bill Clinton made the following remarks.
“If you live for long, you'll make mistakes. However, if you understand and learn from your mistakes, you'll be a better individual. It's how you handle hardships, not how it has affected you. The key thing is never to give up, and never quit.”
That is to say, nobody is free from mistakes.
The wise person will accept and learn from their mistakes.
The ordinary person becomes engrossed in past errors.
And continues to live regretfully.
Winston Churchill buttresses this point when he said,
“All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes”.
Let your mistakes open your eyes.
Then see them as stepping stones to greater possibilities.
Never consider your mistakes as barriers to your joy and success.
Okay… so are you fighting a divorce in court;
is your business going under;
are you heavily in debt,
or have you failed that major exam?
You need to be clear about this.
Nothing remains forever.
Things change.
The harshest storm eventually stops.
The thick ominous clouds sooner or later disperse
for the bright sunshine.
The darkest night finally gives way to the daylight.
Oscar Wilde once said,
“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.”
So, dry up your tears.
Get up on your feet.
Face life courageously.
Fix your eyes on your goal.
And, now, consider the conclusion of the whole matter.
“It's fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.”
- Bill Gates
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