Mistakes are inevitable.
It’s one of the terms and conditions of being a human being.
Even the highest performing individuals in the world can’t avoid mistakes.
The greats aren’t great because they never made mistakes, they’re great because they recovered well from mistakes.
So if you can’t avoid mistakes I think the next best thing is adopting a healthy and productive way to view mistakes.
Calling yourself an idiot, beating yourself up, moping about the place and imagining the extent of your mortification is, in my opinion, not an effective way to deal with errors.
I think you need to treat yourself with compassion.
Something along the lines of:
‘Ah that’s a shame’
Or even make a joke about it and move on.
Crafting this blog post I have come across two absolutes:
1. Mistakes are inevitable and
2. You can’t change the past
If you discover you have made a mistake and can’t rectify it without a time machine then turn your attention to the next moment.
Throwing a pity party and sacrificing the immediate future isn’t going to help anyone.
Say ‘Ah well’ and let the mistake fuel your motivation for the next chance.
Like any skill, this will take practice and if the negative thoughts are too strong then act a bit more conservatively if you have to, but do whatever you can to get back on the horse as soon as possible.
If the mistake triggers a narrative that you’re only capable of making mistakes then it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If the mistake fits the ‘being human’ story and you can reset your focus straight away, you’re much more likely to overcome the next hurdle.
To make you feel better, here is a clip of the greatest basketball player of all time making some howlers.
Thomas Duggan 