5 Things You Should Never Regret about Committing Mistakes

Amy Taylor November 06, 2014

You have heard of it several times – you learn from your mistakes. One commonality among highly successful people is that they failed but never gave up. But committing mistakes and not fretting about it is a challenge for many of us.

Here’s one thing you should always remember though: not only does committing mistakes make you stronger. It also teaches you many things about life. Here are some of them:

It fuels self-acceptance.

Do you sometimes find yourself laughing at your mistakes while you work hard to correct them? Committing mistakes makes us realise that we can fully appreciate ourselves even if sometimes we tend to ‘screw things up’. When we begin to accept that shortcomings are part of being human, we also open ourselves to a lot of learning opportunities.

Mistakes make us inspire others.

Same with the fact that we learn from our own mistakes, we also learn from that of others. When we hear of someone talking about how he ended up getting cancer because of smoking or binge-drinking, we feel inspired not to do the same mistake or correct it if we’re already doing the same thing.

It helps us figure out what we really want in life.

After committing a mistake, the first thing we want to do is reflect. What went wrong? Why do I feel this way? Is this really the right path for me? Noticing and admitting our mistakes will help us get in touch with what we really desire the most in life. As we reflect, we also re-examine our values and goals, and get a clear picture of how we want to live our life.

It makes us less fearful.

We all have fears – whether it’s seeing a snake or spider, or speaking in public and traveling alone – there are things in life that give us chill. While mistakes can often make us more fearful, overtime, it actually takes us straight to the heart of our fears. At the end of the day, we will realise that we are stronger than our fears.

Mistakes teach us what works and what doesn’t.

Mistake is a very good teacher. When we experience the consequences of our mistakes, we get a clear picture about which of our efforts are working, and which are not. A very good way to uncover the learning brought by a mistake or failure is to answer these questions: How can I use this experience? What will I do differently the next time? By examining the ‘could-be-betters’, we can eliminate unproductive, unhealthy or dysfunctional habits that prevent us from reaching our greatest potential.

We all make mistakes. But mistakes aren’t something to be afraid or frustrated of. They are actually a great opportunity to learn, accept ourselves, determine what we really want in life, conquer our fears, and develop better strategies to achieve our goals.

Can you share one mistake you did in the past and how it helped you become a better person?