Do you know someone who doesn’t make mistakes? No, because we all make mistakes. Some time ago wise authors warned us that ‘err are humanum est’ and since we are human and quite imperfect, mistakes are the order of the day. There are many lessons we learn when we make mistakes if we know how to manage mistakes. We would dare to say that with each mistake, our human quality improves.
Lessons we learn when we’re wrong
Mistakes are there to learn from, to rectify if possible and not to make them again. Mistakes should not be forgotten immediately, but first they must be analyzed and learned from. And mistakes, of course, don’t happen so we can punish ourselves for them. This is what we learn when we’re wrong.
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We learn to be responsible
Every action has its reaction. And although we learned this with Karma and it is not always in a negative sense, the same happens with mistakes. Every mistake has its consequence and that makes us realize the responsibility we have when making a decision.
2. We learn to ask for forgiveness
When the consequences of our mistakes affect other people, we also learn to ask for forgiveness, a very liberating act that helps us regain confidence in ourselves.
3. We learn to manage guilt
We make a mistake and feel guilty, it is inevitable and even healthy. But you have to know how to stop with the feeling of guilt and not get to whip ourselves for every mistake. Neither look the other way, of course, but we don’t have to torture ourselves for discovering ourselves imperfect.
4. We learn what works and what doesn’t
The trial/error method is the one used by scientists for their great discoveries. This also applies to our daily life, because every time we make a mistake we are learning that it doesn’t work that way. You have to try again.
5. We learn what we want and what we don’t
Mistakes also teach us to clarify our goals. Sometimes we make mistakes because we obsess over goals that are unattainable or that we don’t really want. A mistake can make us see things from a new perspective.
6. We learn to think of others
We are not alone in the world. Our actions have consequences on other people. What seems obvious sometimes we lose sight of and do things selfishly without thinking about how it will affect others.
7. We learn that we are not perfect
Many people have a problem with perfectionism. They demand too much and put pressure on themselves so that everything turns out perfectly. One mistake and all perfectionism collapses (luckily) to teach us that we also have the right to be wrong.
8. We learn that there are other ways
We are on a marked path, in the best of cases along the path that we have set for ourselves, and suddenly we find an error that makes us stop. We stop thanks to the mistake, perhaps we realize that this path did not lead us anywhere and that is when we can rectify and embark on a new path.
9. We learn to seize opportunities
Life is full of opportunities and you have to know how to catch them on the fly. Opportunities sometimes present themselves by surprise and when we least expect it, and one of those occasions is when we make a mistake. What at first seemed to be a tremendous mistake, in the end can become a great opportunity.
10. We learn to accept
When we make mistakes, we learn to accept, something very necessary to be happy. We accept that life is not always fair, we accept that we are responsible for our actions, we accept that we are not perfect and… once we accept all that, we can realize how wonderful it is to be wrong, because that means that we are doing things.
And you, what do you learn when you’re wrong?