Mistakes Make Perfect
Think about the people you admire for their exceptional skill and quality of work. They hardly seem to trip up. Even when they do, they invariably pick themselves right up with panache and every strand of hair in place. Blunders that seem to floor the common person simply slide off them.
Let's consider one of mankind's greatest fears - public speaking. We all have to do this in some form at some point in our lives. Notice how no one is truly flawless? There is always some uncomfortable pause, some ill-timed joke, an unsuitable word, or the mic falls off the collar. But why do some faux pas appear worse than others? Why do we sometimes begrudge someone for a slip-up, yet seem to forgive others' blunders almost instantly?
The secret is in the perception of mistakes.
Successful, respected people have mastered their flaws. They understand the role they play in creating uniqueness and motivating learning. Most importantly, they realise that the more you are affected by a mistake, the more likely you're going to make more. The worse you feel about your trip-up, the more likely your audience is going to remember it negatively.
So when you fall, get right back up! Acknowledge it, but make sure people know that you're not going to be cowered by it. Shrug it off and move on. Everyone knows that mistakes are a part of life - they're natural and spontaneous. They may be expecting a watertight performance, but if a little rain should fall, they're very likely to perhaps giggle a little then wipe themselves dry, IF you do the same.
The more we learn about mistakes, the more we understand that really, mistakes make perfect. There is simply no other way to learn. We're all familiar with coughing profusely on our first trip to the swimming pool, our scars from falls from bicycles, the stack of complaints from customers who today are our most loyal consumers.
When we make a mistake, focusing on it simply makes it worse. Consistently high-performing people are not perfect, nor are they as "high-performing" as you might think. You may not remember their boo-boos, but that's only because you were more engaged with how good they were after that.
The world is not without its flaws. There will be earthquakes, there will be suffering, and skyscrapers will fall. Junk mail, sour milk, botched-up presentations and big red F letters on our test papers. And supermodels will continue to fall off runways. Yet, the world moves on. And so can you.
posted by felix at 8:45 PM
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