Learn From Your Mistakes

Throughout life you will face difficult moments, situations in which you will take a wrong path. You are human and therefore you will have failures and stumbles. However, it will be the attitude you adopt in these circumstances that will define who you are and how you want to live. Learn from your mistakes and you will have conquered fear.

Some people have personal characteristics that make them more likely to suffer from failure. A perfectionist tendency, a rigid personality and a high intolerance to frustration are some of the main ingredients of the fear of failure. Excessive self-demand makes us live in a mental prison, in which our internal dialogue becomes the fiercest critic.

Who does not allow himself to be wrong, his freedom is limited. Each activity is a test, rather than an adventure. And every mistake, a great personal failure. The overwhelming fear of not being up to the task leads the individual to stay in their comfort zone, and to deprive themselves of the opportunity to experience the new.

Staying in a harmful place, in a painful situation, will be more acceptable than venturing to change course. Well, this would mean admitting that you have failed. And each mistake made is loaded like a heavy burden that undermines our self-esteem, reminding us that we were not enough.

Error is an essential part of the journey

It is essential to change our conception of error. We have to get rid of that negative assessment, that association with failure or incompetence. Mistake is part of the path of all of us, no one goes through life without making a mistake. But in addition, it is not only a part of the path, but an essential element.

Making mistakes is the first step to learning. The teaching that is obtained from a mistake is much more valuable and relevant than that derived from the good times. Failure teaches us about ourselves and about the world, it helps us clarify who we are, what we want and what we don’t want. It shows us which actions lead to happiness and which to frustration.

Failing an exam makes us aware of the need to update the syllabus or to change our study methods. A breakup shows us what our interpersonal limits are and what we really want, need and deserve. Leaving a job that doesn’t make us happy leads us to work for our true passion.

Therefore, the error will never be a failure, but a leap of great magnitude in wisdom and experience . Suspending, divorcing or losing your job does not speak of your disability but of the journey you have already traveled, the work you have already done and the lessons you have already learned to reach your goals.

Learn from your mistakes

Therefore, if you change your perspective, your reality will change. Begin to see error as an ally and not as an enemy, and you will find yourself closer and closer to accomplishing your goals.

• Accept error as part of life. You have to put perfectionist, rigid and inflexible conceptions out of your mind. We all make mistakes, so do you. So accept it and allow yourself to fail, without fear and without guilt. Dare to try, explore, turn around and change course. Integrate the error as part of existence and stop being afraid of it, do not allow it to condition you.
• Use the error as an impulse and not as a drag. When you fail, analyze the situation and extract a lesson. It doesn’t hurt for you to suffer, it hurts for you to change. Therefore, evaluate what message the error brings you: what happened? What part was your responsibility? What could you have done differently? Surely now you know yourself better in terms of your desires, your needs and your limits. Anchor this learning in your mind.

• Take your responsibility and forgive. It is important to recognize that we have a leading role in what happens to us and to take charge of our actions. Settling in the role of victim leaves us powerless, adrift in the face of other people’s circumstances and acts. Assuming mistakes brings us closer to change. In the same way, it is necessary to forgive the others involved and move on without rancor.
• Learn from your mistakes and apply the learnings in the future. Do not be afraid to start over, no longer starting from scratch but from experience.