Why we need to admit our mistakes.
We ALL make mistakes, and that’s a part of life that no one can avoid. Whether you’ve majorly screwed up with a massive account at work or weren’t there for someone that really needed you, you’ve got two options. Fight or flight comes into full play here, and it’s really up to you. Either stay, fight and really own your mistake, or choose flight and deny all responsibility.
No matter how tempting it is to choose the latter, it’s never a good idea to run away from your mistakes. They’ll nearly always come back to bite you in the bum, and they’ll forever plague your mind with the lingering feeling of uneasiness.
It’s time to really own your mistakes, and if you’re still not convinced here are just a few reasons why:
Keeps problems from turning into even bigger problems. What you need to remember, is everyone messes up. When you try to palm responsibility away when you were at fault, it never works out well. Admitting your faults is the first step to resolving the mistake, and left untouched it can grow into an untameable beast that no one will want to deal with.
Allows you to learn. As John Powell once said, “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” When you make a mistake, you always learn something from it. How to approach someone differently, how to speak to clients or how to work more efficiently. If you never make mistakes, how can you learn what works and what doesn’t work? Make a point of acknowledging your mistakes, and turning them into triumphs by genuinely learning from them.
People will respect you. You’re much more likely to respect someone that owns up to their mistake, than someone who runs away and denies all accountability. We’re afraid to admit our misdoings, and often think that people will look at us in a different light, when it’s really quite the opposite. Anyone can make a mistake, but it takes a bigger person to actually admit that they’ve made one. Take total ownership over your mistakes, and never hide behind someone else or extenuating circumstances. It’s far better to own up to them instantly, than to let them stew and have someone completely lose all trust in you over time.
Your own inner peace. There’s nothing worse than the sinking feeling that you’ve really f*cked up, and you’ve managed to hurt others in the process. If you’ve ever kept a secret from someone, you’ll know that it constantly gnaws away at you until it becomes unbearable. It sounds selfish, but by holding on to your mistake and not owning it you’re putting your own mental health in jeopardy. When you finally own these mistakes, it really is like a giant weight has lifted off your shoulders.
Look to the future. So you’ve made a gigantic mistake, and it feels like your world is crumbling around you. You’re finding it difficult to look to the future, and your once clear vision has been clouded with this seemingly unstoppable f*ck up. The only way to get around this speed-bump is to tackle it head on. Sit down with a friend, family member or colleague and break it down together. They’ll be able to give you much needed advice, and also encourage you to admit fault. It’s bloody hard to do, but it’s even harder to throw away your future for one mistake.
Don’t let others take the fall for you. If you’ve decided to not take accountability, you must keep in mind that someone, somewhere, will have to take the fall for your mistake. Perhaps it’s your co-worker that gave input on a project, or a friend that encouraged you to pursue the mistake; whatever it is, inevitably someone always takes the fall. Be the bigger person, and admit your faults. Save the friendship, take a deep breath and come clean. You’ll feel a million times better!
We’ve all really messed up at some stage in our lives, and you need to remember it’s totally normal. I’ve really stuffed up in the past, and I let the situation replay constantly in my mind until I made myself sick. The only cure? Actually admitting fault, owning up and moving on. Good luck my friends x