Mistakes?

Mistakes are a part of life that we often fear as if they're as bad as sins themselves. Yet, avoiding them is impossible.

They're like ghosts from our past that linger around us, no matter how hard we try to escape. They cast a gigantic shadow on our today. They are the proverbial elephant in the room. They live with us constantly, however much we want to shun them. We are often desperate to leave them behind, never repeat them or see them ever again. Yet, the irony is, despite their constant presence, we do our best to not address them.

And so they haunt us. They hunt us down to the depths of depression, anxiety and pain and sadness. Despite all this mankind doesn’t want to resolve it? That’s really tragic. And funny!!

We dislike those who point out our errors and prefer the company of those who share our sense of victimhood, comforting each other with not just the belief that there's no way out, but also the conviction that we are right, and the world is wrong. After all, we tell ourselves repeatedly, “IT IS NOT MY FAULT. IT IS ‘THEIR’ FAULT”

Isn't it peculiar how we avoid situations that might reveal our mistakes or open a path to improvement? Acknowledging our errors seems impossible, and forgiveness—whether for ourselves or others—feels out of reach. We seek validation from others – mentors, self help books, family and counsellors -cherry-picking information that aligns with our views, and often overlook the simple solution: identifying and correcting our mistakes to achieve our goals.

The solution is quite simple, and staring us in our face. Let me give you an example. If a car is not starting, we check what is wrong (or call the mechanic). Once the identify the problem, it is fixed. And the car starts. It is the same for anything else around us that is not giving us the desired result. But, this simple logic breaks down when we analyse our own life. When the desired results are not there. We don’t look for what is wrong within us. We stubbornly cling to our ways, even if it means facing failure repeatedly, rather than admitting our faults. We change everything around us—jobs, relationships, even countries—hoping for a different outcome, but without addressing the root cause: our mistakes.

In simpler terms, mistakes are a part of life, and facing them is crucial for growth. By acknowledging and learning from our errors, we open ourselves to change and improvement, rather than remaining stuck in a cycle of blame and regret.

And, the starting point of this is being a grown up and saying “this is where I stumbled" to yourself. When you do that, you will begin to fix your mistake, and see the desired results you seek.