Sometimes we think life would be grand if we didn’t have to put up with mistakes and failures from ourselves and others, don’t we? I mean, isn’t every body perfect? Wait, what? No? We’re not all in the same place, the same stage of life at the same time. It’s all part of life to be young, then grow old. There are a lot of mistakes and failures in between. But those shouldn’t define us. Overcoming them does.
We learn many life lessons from mistakes and failings. Do you use those lessons to make you a better human, a better spouse, mother or friend? Are they helping you grow into the best version of yourself?
Do you give up after the first try or do you get back up, dust yourself off and try again? When you make a mistake are you embarrassed? Do you look to see if anyone is watching? Do you try to figure out another way? Don’t be afraid to live life to the fullest because you are afraid of failing or making a mistake or two, or ten or twenty.
Awareness of Process
I learned some valuable information a few years ago about being aware of the whole process of living. In order to be successful and live a happy life, there needs to be an awareness of the whole process, sometimes called AOP. We need to ask ourselves three important questions when trying to figure things out:
- What worked?
- What didn’t? and
- How can I do it differently so that it could be better?
Three simple questions you can apply to everything you do in life. You’ll be amazed at how well it works. You just have to remember to apply it. There is no giving up. Life was meant to be lived, mistakes and all.
Do It Anyway
I love this poem which is often attributed to St.Teresa of Calcutta and can be found on a wall of one of the Missionaries of Charity buildings:
People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway. If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway. What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway. Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.
We are all in this mess, called life, together. Mistakes and failures are part of it. They become experience and lessons learned. Hopefully, we learn from our mistakes and when we fail at something, we have the courage to keep trying till we get it right. We’d all still be in the dark if Thomas Edison hadn’t tried the light bulb for the thousandth time.
Action Steps
God is teaching us, helping us to be the best version of ourselves through our mistakes and failings. So whether you’re writing that book that gets rejected or you cook that dinner and burn the rolls, whatever your trial, keep going, keep trying. Nobody else is really worried about your mistakes because they are focused on their own. Always remember: You are not the mistake. You are not the failure. It’s the process that needs to be tweaked.
So put those three questions somewhere in your planner or calendar and the next time you make a mistake or fail at something, think about those three questions. Take notes and try again. After 37 years, I finally figured out how not to burn the rolls and the book writing is still in progress.
Thanks for following along. Be sure to add your email to the blog and get this delivered to your inbox every week. I appreciate you. God bless you all. –Barb
