Don’t be afraid of mistakes
Brought to you by: Century 21 Gold, The Smits Team
“The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually be afraid you will make one.” –Elbert Hubbard
Mistakes often terrify us, as does the thought of making one. If you make a mistake, then you might face a setback. If you mess up, you might have to take a few steps backward and do some things over again. If you make the wrong choice, you might end up losing some ground and having to regain what you lost.
None of these options sound like much fun, which is why most people try not to make mistakes. After all, there is really no substitute for common sense, right?
There is really no denying that trying not to make mistakes is a good idea. After all, avoiding them can help us to avoid a lot of other problems—but what if we avoid doing the right things in the process? What if we are so afraid of messing up that we never take a chance?
Does it really hurt not to try?
Trying not to make a mistake is not always the same as not trying—but it is a line that can be difficult to spot when we start to think cautiously. Whether you’re trying to start a business, finish a project, or effect real change in your life, fear of failure can alter many of your decisions. Is it possible that your fear of making a mistake is keeping you from making bigger leaps that could pay off in the long run?
Don’t live life afraid of mistakes
Whether the mistakes you most fear are in the future or in the past, you will find that the greatest benefits come from shunning your fear of them. Mistakes in the past cannot be changed—but mistakes in the future may or may not happen, depending upon what you do.
Believe it or not, mistakes in the future might hurt you more if you never risk making them. If you never take risks, you never make big strides forward. If you never take chances and fall, you will never learn, grow, or develop. Becoming a better version of yourself is a process that involves making mistakes and learning from them. In a sense, mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Sometimes, they can teach us more than college classes, and they can impact our lives more than even the best advice from a mentor.
So don’t be afraid of making them. Don’t be afraid to take a chance and see what happens. Plan and strategize. Try to figure out what will work the best. But at the end of the day, there is simply no substitute for giving life a try.
