Mistake

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. - Elbert Hubbard

How often we dread the possibility that we will make a mistake. Some people dread this because they assume that if they ever make a mistake they will be laughed at and ridiculed. Some people dread this because they assume that if they ever make a mistake, it will mean that they have failed, which means that they are a failure. We learn at a very young age that if you make a mistake there will be some kind of punishment, either from an authority figure or your peers. Few people tolerate a mistake, whether it is their own or someone else's.

We all assume that mistakes are inevitable, and we typically fear the consequences. This is a major reason why we don't start a project in the first place, why we procrastinate until we think that we have absolutely every base covered (and by then it is usually too late). But mistakes are not inevitable, although they are likely, and we don't have to fear their consequences. All mistakes do is tell us that we need to try something else next time. They are meant for our benefit, but we are so afraid of them that we fail to take advantage of them.

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one. Imagine what you would attempt if you were not afraid of making a mistake! See how much your fear of making mistakes is holding you back. Once you understand that mistakes happen for your own benefit, to help you succeed, if you will just learn their lessons, there is no stopping you.