Mistakes: the Key to Success

We should look at mistakes as opportunities to progress and grow. Instead of hiding, denying, or being ashamed of making a mistake, we should learn from them and discover a solution for each one. This is part of maturity and taking responsibility for your own actions. Life is full of experiences and mistakes are part of those experiences; therefore, mistakes are part of our life. Each mistake that we make shows us what needs improvement in our life and what we need to work on . We should learn to appreciate mistakes and not look upon them as hindrances or setbacks. We should not ignore them either; rather, we should analyze each one and see how we can do better next time. After all, “mistakes are the portals of discovery.”--James Joyce

Thomas Edison made over 3000 attempts at making an electric light bulb until he finally discovered a method that worked. The key is perseverance and not giving up when you fail. Edison could have saw each time he made a mistake as a failed try and thrown in the towel. Instead he persevered and from each mistake that he made, he became closer to his goal of providing the world with light and power.


When I make a mistake, my first reaction is frustration and annoyance at my own folly. I then endeavor to quickly fix my mistake before someone else notices this fault. Instead of trying to fix it, erase the fact that it happened, and then hide all the evidence that Julie Dawn Young made this mistake, I should try to do what I can to mend the situation, be positive, and think of ways I could improve my tactics for next time. This is something we all should be striving to do. “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” – John C. Maxwell

Life is merely a learning experience and making mistakes is sometimes the best way for us to be taught how something is actually done. At times, we even learn how to do a project better after making the mistake the first or even second try. Usually when we make mistakes, it shows that we really are trying to succeed and that we are not afraid to use every technique possible to achieve our goal. We should never be fearful of making a mistake, for that is sometimes the only way we learn. “He, who never made mistakes, never lived life.”