Comments on: Mistakes Aren’t All Bad

By: jane woodman

jane woodman — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:26:13 +0000

there is a song with the line ‘there’s beauty in the breakdown’ that i’ve always loved. i think it’s impossible in this complex world to NOT make mistakes, and when we actually succeed it’s such a fine moment that we think about for a long time and try to repeat; and most times even that doesn’t work. i’m thinking we’ve all seen enough to know that mistakes will always happen (i.e., nobody’s perfect) and it’s just a part of (human) nature. thank you so much for the insight into this topic. forgive yourself, learn what you can from the mistake, and move on in a better direction with that knowledge. (oh, and what malo says!)

By: Aidan Donnelley Rowley @ Ivy League Insecurities

Aidan Donnelley Rowley @ Ivy League Insecurities — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:12:33 +0000

I don’t have anything particularly earth-shattering to add (’tis been a LONG day with my little girls), but I love your words and this post and believe wholeheartedly that there is a majesty in mistakes. Thanks for this piece!

By: Malo

Malo — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:52:09 +0000

One of the best by-products of making mistakes (and realizing it) is it keeps us humble. The lessons I learn from my mistakes are far more valuable than those I learned from my successes.

By: Patty - Why Not Start Now?

Patty - Why Not Start Now? — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:10:04 +0000

Oh, Belinda, so many mistakes. I’m not saying my life has been one big mistake, but what you say is so wise and true: “And in the off-chance that this mistake never teaches us anything and never inspires us to do better next time, are we so unforgivable?” I know I’m supposed to learn from them all, but truth be told, sometimes that’s just exhausting. And actually, some mistakes just make me sad, like not being there for a friend in need or putting off taking my cat to the vet when it turned out she had cancer. Yes, of course, I could say I learned something, and next time I’ll do better, but that seems a bit too pat. What I’ve come to realize I really need in such situations is self forgiveness. The older I get the easier that becomes.

By: Positively Present

Positively Present — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:49:27 +0000

Excellent post. I know it’s cliche, but I’ve learned SO much from my mistakes and I know I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them. At the time it’s not always easy to know this, but looking back I can say I’m really glad I’ve had some of the mistakes I’ve had.

By: LPC

LPC — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:48:45 +0000

Oh gosh. Today I feel that I have been alive so long that I no longer discriminate between mistakes and successes. It all it what it is. It is all another day of life. Which is always good.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:11:37 +0000

I’m not certain this counts exactly as a mistake…just perhaps a byproduct of my immaturity at the time. I was in my first semester at a college in Ohio, 6 hours away from home. The people there were great, but is was desperately isolated and felt entirely homesick. After 3 months, I dropped out and returned home to a community college, and eventually went on to get a 4-year degree. Had I never made the mistake of dropping out and not sticking it out, I would have never met my husband, who was only in my hometown for a brief time. Here, doing what I perceived the be the right thing and sticking it out would have impacted the trajectory of my life. Interesting to ponder.

By: Ben Leon Guerrero

Ben Leon Guerrero — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:55:38 +0000

My Dear Belinda,

SO very very nice to read this post this morning. I like your term “psychological tariff”—we do that to ourselves all the time for our mistakes and it is imperative that we learn to move on. Thank you so much for the reminder….another one to bookmark and remember.

Faithful reader Ben