I hate making mistakes. I mean I really absolutely abhor making mistakes. However, just this morning, I was reminded of something I’ve heard my dad say before. It goes something like, “if you can’t make a mistake, you can’t make anything.”
I just turned 26 this year (scary thought), and I think I’m starting to learn more about myself, and in that process you sometimes see the parts of yourself that you’d rather not look at, but those are the parts that desperately need not only a good look through but also a good change or two.
I touched on one of those issues in my life recently – fear. This morning I was reminded of my perfectionist tendencies and the damaging effect they can have. It was something small I missed at work, but it could have made huge damage in the long run. Thankfully it was caught and taken care of.
If you ask my wife, Danielle, she’ll tell you that I hate to be wrong. And sometimes I have just a wee bit of a problem gloating in my “rightness.” I cannot stand being wrong, which I think ties into the fact that I hate making mistakes. I hate mispronouncing words, not knowing the answer to a question, etc. etc. But in being wrong, there is always room for improvement, room to learn, and room to grow and become a better person.
They say that the traits that bother you in other people are often part of your own personality. And I must say that people who always act like they’re right annoy me to no end sometimes. I hope that I don’t come off that way to other people. If I do, please slap me upside the head.
So if you have perfectionist tendencies, like me, relax. It is ok to make a mistake every now and again. It’s probably a good thing actually. It keeps you humble. It makes you sharper (or should point you that way), etc. etc.
Mistakes, if we learn from them, can be the some of the best things that ever happen to us.
Well written! Makes me want to know what the mistake was that could have had such big consequences.
Interesting story. But do you think it is possible to attain a state of perfection in life by learning from ones mistakes?