We often hear people say they are making a mistake and therefore feel embarrassed. It is not new that making a mistake makes one feel ashamed. But we also need to understand that mistakes are the steps to our success, and to succeed, there will always be a need for mistakes. Let’s take it a little further by understanding the psychology behind it.
Psychologically, one makes a mistake because we have been made to believe that we should be perfect. In a bid to prove this, we hold back the little things we see as being mistakes; e.g., we never like to experiment with the ideas we come up with. Owning a mistake is how we should turn our minds and give room to some experiments.
Reflecting on your mistakes spreads enlightenment throughout you. It is how you learn and take wisdom from your actions. Your mistakes make you sit down and ponder about what went wrong and the series of actions that made the mistake happen. Mistakes will make you look at your emotions on a certain issue, hence helping you to control and rein your emotions in the future.
Errors will only give you more knowledge than being perfect. Let go of control because mistakes will only give you the best experience. When you make an error, accept it and take your steps forward. This is how your mistakes have a great impact on your problem-solving capacity. Problem-solving skills are of key nature so that in the future, they will help us become successful people. Mistakes will also let you create more ideas about your emotions since your emotions are understood and solved very fast.
We all make mistakes—some small, some big. It is human nature not to do things right all the time. We may have made a mistake by being rude to our parents, not completing our homework, forgetting our anniversary, lying to our loved ones, or being caught cheating during an exam. No matter how big or small your mistakes are, it is essential to admit that you made a mistake to be better humans in the future.
A way of owning your mistakes is not to repeat the same. Owning your mistakes can be a reason to be a better person and, for example, not being rude to a close friend or colleague next time when they make a mistake. But it is even more important to admit to mistakes that can be improved the next time you make a mistake.
You will now have to understand the concept of why and how you can better be a person by your mistakes.
1. What Does It Mean to Own Your Mistakes?
Owning your mistakes means admitting that you did something wrong and taking responsibility for your actions. It means you do not make any excuse or blame anyone for your actions. It means admitting you are wrong and making amends to what you have done to make the person or situation better. It does not mean you have to act against yourself by being brutal. No. It means apologizing for what you have done or what you have done wrong to the person or the situation.
2. Mistakes Help You Learn and Grow
One of the reasons to own your mistakes is that mistakes will help you grow. A mistake is just an eye-opener to you and a way for you to have great thinking about the situation. When you make a mistake, you learn what you should do in the future to ensure that there are no more mistakes in that field.
For instance, let’s say you got late for a meeting. You may end up apologizing for being late by giving a fact that you got stuck in a traffic jam, which is not true. You end up lying to your workmates and boss. But in the next meeting, do you have a way of getting there earlier by getting to the meeting point a little earlier to ensure that you are early? By arriving a little earlier, you will see that in the next meeting, your performance will be excellent, and you will never repeat the same mistake of lying for a simple reason that you were late for the meeting. Let your mistakes be the reason why you do not have to lie in the future and help you get a good standing in your organization.
You will learn more in life if you make a mistake than when you do things right. You learn better and more in life when you make a mistake. Mistakes are also the best way of living our lives because you are ready to take on new actions or tasks without any fear, since you know you may also make a mistake, but in the future, you can avert it.
We are sure that your little mistake will help you understand that you may make a mistake next time and do something about it, which will help you avert the same mistakes in the future.
Read Also: Simple Ways to Build Your Self-Confidence
3. Owning Your Mistakes Builds Your Confidence
When you own your mistakes, it will help you build more confidence. You are now showing yourself that you are strong enough to face yourself. The more mistakes, the better confidence you are building. Confidence is not when you are right but when you are wrong. Confidence is not in being perfect but in being wrong sometimes and having the strength to admit you are wrong, and that makes you a truly confident person.
Owning your mistakes can be the reason to build character—for example, not being rude to a close friend or colleague next time when they make a mistake. But it is even more important to admit to mistakes that can be improved the next time you make a mistake.
You will now have to understand the concept of why and how you can better be a person by your mistakes.
Think about the time you learned to ride a bicycle for the first time, fell a number of times, and got bruises on your elbows and knees. But after all that pain, you were able to learn and fix your body movements every time you got on the bicycle. You also learned to have a strong position of standing and moving. No matter how many falls or bruises you had while trying to learn to ride the bicycle, you were determined enough, and your mistakes helped you become good at it.
Related: Why Personal Growth Matters Now More Than Ever
4. It Strengthens Your Relationships with Others
Owning your mistakes will help to build your relationships with others. For example, there is a friend who came to your house and destroyed your property, and you said nothing about it. After some time, the person has made it their place; that is, now they own the house. It is not your house anymore. The person staying in your house becomes disrespectful to you, and you cannot do anything about it because you did not own the mistake earlier when they broke your property.
But if you had told the person how rude they were for breaking your property without permission, it would have shown ownership. Owning your mistakes will help avoid repeated issues—for example, telling your friend or lover how wrong it was for them to betray you. The moment you do that, the friendship or relationship has a chance to survive because the issue is owned and taken seriously.
Additionally, owning mistakes in relationships helps avoid misunderstandings. When you own your mistakes, you reduce arguments and avoid silent treatments. Owning your mistakes helps you express your feelings and thoughts.
5. Owning Your Mistakes Helps You Be More Resilient
Life has a way of knocking you down and making you rise again through your mistakes. Owning your mistakes will help you be more resilient. Life is like a rollercoaster. It is not good or bad all the time and is never really the same. Life will not give you a whole cake but crumbs of cake, which, if you collect, can become a whole cake again. This is where resilience comes in.
Owning your mistakes will help you rise again without the same hurdles. That mistake will help you not fall for the same hurdle again. A mistake is more valuable than gold because it may help you get the whole cake back. Owning your mistakes will help you learn from them and get stronger to face the world again.
Life is meant for learning; hence, your mistakes are important because they help you learn and make you a resilient person. Owning your mistakes will help you become stronger because every mistake has a meaning and sometimes a lie that can turn into truth.
Related: 10 Ways to Embrace Your Flaws and Love Yourself More
6. Owning Your Mistakes Makes You More Honest
Honesty is the best quality a person can possess. Owning your mistakes will make you an honest person. When you own your mistakes, you show honesty to yourself. Being honest with yourself shows others how truthful you can be to them. Owning your mistakes can give you an advantage because you do not have to hold grudges or negative feelings toward others.
Over time, owning your mistakes helps you become more honest. It helps you become a better person than pretending to be perfect and dishonest with yourself. Owning your mistakes also builds honesty—for example, not cheating on your lover because past mistakes have taught you better behavior.
Take the example of a race: you may fall once when you start, but that mistake will make you more humble. After learning from it, you will grow stronger and not fail again. Owning your mistakes helps you become a more honest and better individual.
7. Owning Your Mistakes Is a Step Toward Maturity
We often think of age before maturity, but owning your mistakes shows your level of maturity. Age does not always come with maturity. Sometimes, younger people are more mature because they own their mistakes, unlike elders who refuse to admit their faults.
A person who never admits mistakes becomes less mature in life. Owning your mistakes helps you become more mature daily. It helps you become a better adult in life.
People who own their mistakes tend to be more mature and know how to handle situations well. Owning your mistakes helps you grow in maturity.
8. How to Own Your Mistakes
Acknowledge the Mistake
The first step to owning a mistake is to acknowledge it. When we deny or cover up errors, matters worsen. Own what happened without excuses or blame.
Apologize Sincerely
If your mistake hurt someone, offer a sincere apology. Apologize without excuses and take responsibility.
Take Responsibility
Do not expect others to take responsibility for your actions. Be accountable and understand your role in the situation.
Learn from the Experience
Reflect on what went wrong and how to avoid repeating the mistake. Learning from mistakes is how we grow.
Make Amends
If harm was done, try to fix it. Making amends shows responsibility and willingness to make things right.
Move On
After owning your mistake and making amends, let go and move on. Dwelling on the past prevents growth.
9. Conclusion
Owning your mistakes is essential for personal growth, though it can be challenging. By acknowledging errors, apologizing, taking responsibility, learning from experiences, making amends, and moving on, mistakes become opportunities for growth.
Do not be afraid to make mistakes, and do not beat yourself up when you do. Own them, learn from them, and keep moving forward on your journey toward self-improvement.
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