Do you have to make your own mistakes? Yes and No! And here are the 2 reasons why.....
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"The only man who never makes a mistake is the man who never does anything." – Theodore Roosevelt
If you are reading this, there is a high probability that you are about to make a mistake. Or rather, the chances could be that - like me, you have already made some before now. If not yet, I can guarantee that you will be doing so in the near future, which is one reason why you reading this article right now is quite timely. So, stick with me till the end!
1. Yes, you should make your own mistakes
"If you aren’t making mistakes, you’re not learning — or, at least, you’re not learning enough." - V. Nayar
I recently came across a quote which read: "to learn what works, you must know what doesn't." While I think it might not be ideal to always apply this to personal experiences, I still agree with the premise of the quote as I believe that the experiences we can derive from personal mistakes can play an essential role in helping us learn what works or doesn't work. Being someone who has been quite generous in volunteering myself as the "guinea pig" for a lot of my life experiments, I can also affirm that some of the most valuable life lessons I have attained, did come from the experiences of my own mistakes and living through them.
Can you remember your first experience with fire as a child?
As a child growing up in Nigeria, I was very naive and can still remember one of my first mistake experiences. One faithful morning, I was playing with my brother in our family kitchen and suddenly got the brilliant idea to put my finger on the fire burning out of the kitchen stove. As you would rightly guess, my finger got burnt! Intrigued by my reaction, my brother out of curiosity asked me to do it again. But I refused, shaking my head in resistance while screaming out loudly for help. From that singular experience, I was able to learn more about fire in a short timeframe than I probably will for the rest of my life.
Even as an adult, some of the most significant learnings and discoveries I have made have come from personal mistakes. And for the most part, they have been very vital in strengthening my character, abilities, personality, and in shaping my social development. The way I see it, the experiences from personal mistakes will not only be crucial to one´s personal growth, but help test one´s limits, and discover new ways forward.
So, regardless of who you are, personal mistakes are going to be very valuable.
As I realized from the fire episode, when you put your finger on fire and it burns you, that can be a mistake that most likely would earn you a scar. But more than the scare souvenir you might likely receive, you will become a person who has felt firsthand the pain of being burnt. And even as an adult, that experience will never leave you.
2. No, you don’t have to do it yourself
“Experience is a master teacher, even when it’s not our own.” - Gina Greenlee
While it is true that no one is immune to making mistakes, I believe that every one of us should not have to make the same mistake to be able to learn from it.
If you die from a mistake, then probably the lessons will not be very useful to you.
The beauty around mistakes is that everyone else has made some before you, so you can always tap into the experience and insights from others. From your boss in the office to your football coach, mentor, team captain, best-selling authors and experienced leaders - no one is safe. So, you always will have a plethora of resources around. Read books! Watch educational movies, videos and follow blogs that share the ideas about the steps you desire to make.
Understand their challenges, regrets as well as take advice where and when necessary.
Maybe, you don’t find all the information you get from others very useful in your journey, but it is sure to make you more informed and guide your decision-making process - for the better.
In conclusion, in as much as they can bring you valuable life lessons, there will be some mistakes you might need to skip for your good. So, protect yourself and stay alive!