I’ve made a mistake or two…gazillion. Thank goodness.

People seem to be naturally mistake-averse. Mistakes large and small, professional and personal, solitary or social…mistakes and errors provide two great benefits, if we consider them as part of growth. Not just our own growth but also that of others.

1. We learn: I tackled a project around the house this weekend and it was pretty easy because I had undertaken something similar before and made a few errors on the way. The errors taught me the right way. The same process applies to most everything in life; we try, we make mistakes, we learn, we grow. The problem is when we quit trying and/or when we refuse to learn from the experiences. Too often people feel so bad about the mistake that they miss the lessons gained from the process.

2. Others learn: Thousands of years ago, a caveman drew a picture on a cave wall that shared an important lesson learned from a mistake he made: Don’t go after mammoths by yourself. Maybe it did not happen quite like that, but others grow when we are able to admit to errors we have made, no matter what aspect of life in which the lessons are learned. We become better leaders, parents, partners, teachers, friends…better people…when we guide others with our hard-earned wisdom, while also allowing them to make mistakes without feeling guilty for doing so.

Bonus:

Hopefully, proper perspectives enable us to better appreciate others and the “errors” of their ways. We know not why the reasons that some people make errors in actions, judgements, statements or decisions that may be influenced by a lack of attention or an over-abundance of other influences. I am reminded of a time when I told a neighbor that I had caught a nice, eating-size catfish but my bucket was empty. “I thought you said you caught a fish,” he said as he looked in the bucket. I said, “I decided if that was the only stupid thing the fish did that day (getting caught) he didn’t deserve to die for it.” Many times I’ve told others when they make a mistake of some sort, “If that’s the worst thing that you do today, you’re in pretty good shape.”

Mistakes, errors, misjudgments…welcome to the human race. They are among the best lessons over a lifetime.