A Winning Attitude - The Importance Of Making Mistakes
A Winning Attitude - The Importance Of Making Mistakes
If you obey all the rules, you'll miss all the fun. - Katharine Hepburn
When I told my friends I was going to be a comedian, they laughed at me. - Carrot Top
Want to have a winning attitude that attracts success? It's very important for you to fail and fail often. As a matter of fact, the more often you fail the rapidly your success will come. So go ahead and be willing to make a mistake!
Many people have a fear of making a mistake. It's ingrained in our western culture.
How often have you heard some popular wisdom that begins with:
Make no mistake.
Don't make a mistake.
Play it safe.
Be safe.
Our school system rewards you for your intellectual achievements and the kids who have gone through that system end up learning to live their lives through their brains. On that test there's only one right answer for each multiple choice question and you have to think it through.
When I was in high school I had it all figured out. I knew how to get the good grades and I believe that in my family there was a tacit assumption that I was the one most likely to succeed. After all I had the report cards from my school to confirm it. It was only later I discovered that the game of life does not play out like multiple choice exams and you certainly don't know all the variables all the time. There are a lot of unknowns.
So I learned that if you want success in your life, at times it is required of you to make a leap of faith. You have no choice. You have to be willing to make a mistake. And that willingness takes heart. Not brains. Not logic. Just the courage that comes right from your heart.
In my personal life I can tell you that I have gained more from my mistakes than from my successes, that there are no mistakes, only lessons and that the greatest risk in life is in not taking one.
Mistakes are a part of being human and so I can truly appreciate my mistakes for what they are, precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way.
The process of becoming successful demands that you make mistakes. You have to fall on your ass and then get up again and keep going. The thing is, it is only through this process of making mistakes that you can gain the necessary depth of experience to be able teach others. Without making mistakes you can't be a leader. So go ahead. Be willing to risk making a mistake.