Mistakes Good or Bad?

If you're afraid to make a mistake - you're interferring
with the very process that makes you successful. This is
a tough lesson for so many people to learn. Mistakes are
not the end of the world; they're your ticket to a whole new
life.

I remember one evening I sat at home with my son, Jordan, talking
about what it takes to get good at anything. He was about six,
but he was thirsty for knowledge.He's also always had a powerful self-image, probably from being an only child.

'Tell me about something you hadn't used to be able
to do?' I asked. 'Something that used to be hard for you but now
it's easy.'

'Throwing a ball,' he immediately said.

'Okay, what else?'

'Catching a ball.'

'And ...?'

'Writing.'

'Okay, good. Can you think of anything else?'

'Hmmm,spelling.'

'Any idea how many things you've forgotten? How about learning to roll over, to crawl, to stand, to walk, to run, to get dressed, to feed yourself, and so on.'

Jordan looked at me with eyes wide with wonder
"These things once were very difficult for you. You
struggled with them. You made lots of mistakes. Yet now
you can do them a lot, lot easier, right?'

'Right.'

'Do you know what this means?' I asked. 'It means that anything
you want to learn, the same rules will apply. At first you'll make
mistakes. You'll struggle. Then you'll make fewer mistakes because
the mistakes are teaching you WHAT to do. Then, if you pay attention like you have so far, you'll be able to do the new thing, too. It's as simple as that. But if you whine and complain and cry about your mistakes, you'll never get anywhere. You'll think poorly about yourself and you'll get results that you don't want .'

I talked with Jordan a bit more about the value mistakes
have in life - and I reinforced those words over and over again.

Of course, this is only a lesson for six-year old kids. I don't
know of a single adult who could benefit from this knowledge!!

Do You?

I think all of us can.

Don't fear mistakes. Use them as the corrective feedback
they truly are. Mistake lead to greatness - but only if you
stop judging them as bad.