From an early age, society has been teaching us that making mistakes is something negative, something to be avoided at all costs since the path to realization is error-free and passes from one success to the next. However, it is a mistaken belief that often becomes an obstacle in our path. In fact, no one has ever been able to escape from mistakes because they are also part of the training.Mistakes make us who we are and ultimately make us more resilient people. Mistakes allow us to increase our tolerance for frustration, force us to mature and, above all, teach us which strategies we should not follow and which is the most appropriate path.However, when we know how to accept a mistake, it turns into an obstacle in our path that tears our self-esteem and keeps us in our comfort zone, where we feel safe and protected, but where we get stuck.
5 tips to learn from our mistakes
1. Accept your mistakes. The fear of making mistakes is often so great that many people try to deny their mistakes at all costs by placing the responsibility on others or on external causes. It is certainly a very comfortable and easy strategy, but it does not allow us to grow. When we accept our mistakes we are taking a giant step on the path of personal growth, because we accept that we can make mistakes and we take our share of the responsibility.
2. Identify where you went wrong. It is not enough to accept that we have made a mistake, if we wish to learn from this we must reflect on the events that have led us to make mistakes. Only in this way will we be able to take advantage of the opportunity to grow offered by error. Ask yourself what happened and find out where you went wrong. Finding out the reasons allows you not to make the same mistake in the future.
3. Eliminate the sense of guilt. Often, after analyzing a mistake and assuming our share of responsibility, we begin to feel guilty. However, guilt is one of the most limiting and painful feelings we experience. Reflecting on a mistake does not mean starting a witch hunt, but embarking on a path of constructive criticism. The fact that we have been wrong does not mean that we are worse people or that our worth has decreased, but that we will have to try harder next time having the support of a richer experience behind us as well. Remember that a mistake can permanently mark your life, making you a more unhappy person and consumed with guilt or, on the contrary, it can help you grow.
4. Lean on those around you. Sometimes we are so immersed in a situation that we cannot objectively evaluate it, in these cases the opinions of those around us are invaluable. We shouldn't feel embarrassed to admit we were wrong or apologize and help identify what, how and why we did wrong. In fact, you will be amazed to find that recognizing your mistakes can also earn you points, instead of taking them away, is what is known as the Pratfall Effect, according to which people who make mistakes are more sympathetic to us because we feel them closer to we.
5. Diversify your interests. Sometimes we are so obsessed with perfection and with achieving our goals in a particular area (such as work or a relationship) that we completely forget about the other aspects of our life. So when we make a mistake in one of those areas that we consider "sacred", the world falls on us. However, as we learn to give everything its proper weight and immerse ourselves in more activities, we realize that a simple mistake is not the end of the world.
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