What is it about making mistakes that makes us feel so embarrassed? We sometimes feel like hiding and running away. Yet the truth is, we all will make mistakes. It is the way we learn. There is no way to move through life without making mistakes.
I once got a fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant. The message in it said something like this: There are no failures just learning experiences. I thought how wise and true that is. If you think about scientists and mathematicians, they make many mistakes before they get to the answers they are trying to find.
If you grew up in a critical household, where it felt that you were dodging landmines, this made it even harder for you to accept that you would make mistakes. Some families bend over backwards to make their children feel okay about making mistakes. Whatever type of family you grew up in, we all have some sort of legacy and worry about making mistakes.
I am sure you all have stories about the first few days and weeks at a new job. How hard it was because so much information was being thrown at you. If you had a kind boss and co-workers, it was a little easier but you still wanted to impress them with how quickly you were picking up on the job.
The main thing as I see it is to learn from our mistakes, pick it up, examine it and recognize that we all have lessons to learn and what better way than by taking our mistakes and making lemonade out of lemons!