I recently read an article about a CEO who challenged women to include small typos in a professional email. Although it sounds counterintuitive, I can appreciate her reasoning. She explained how women tend to obsess over little mistakes, and by intentionally including a typo in an email, women will realize it’s not that big of a deal.
She’s right! I don’t know about you, but panic sets in when I realize I’ve made a typo in an email—or on Instagram. Logic and reason go out the window and my anxious brain starts to work in overdrive. Why is that? Do men crumble when they realize they accidentally wrote their instead of there? Do they immediately feel incompetent and fear what others will think of them? I doubt it.
The thing with mistakes is that everyone makes them, but when it happens to us, we immediately think we are flawed. As frustrating as they are, mistakes are part of life. Personally, I make mistakes. A lot of them. Sorry to break it to you, but I’m human. I make little mistakes, big mistakes, trivial mistakes, stupid mistakes. I don’t like it and I try really hard not to make them, but sometimes it’s inevitable.
Instead of dwelling on the mistake, I try to learn something from it.
What can I do better next time?
What did I learn from this mistake?
By being comfortable with your imperfections you won’t think twice about taking risks and operating outside of your comfort zone. This is where the real growth happens. It’s all about trial and error. Some things may work, some may not, but at least you are putting yourself out there. And that’s what really matters. Mistakes will help you learn and grow, but only if you let them.
Tell me, are you learning from your mistakes? Do you embrace them or shun them?