According to a growing body of clinical research, mistakes enrich learning if you adopt a positive mindset about your mistakes. Best of all, there are practical steps you can take to transform your mistakes into opportunities.

Change always starts with changing your thinking. How we perceive ourselves is at the core of moving past challenges. Let’s begin your transformation by changing how we think about ourselves.

Words of Wisdom to Learn From Your Mistakes…

1. Recognize that you can improve. People who understand that intelligence and skills are flexible rather than fixed are more likely to persevere. Your performance improves with practice and effort.
   
2. Accept your imperfections. Anxiety can interfere with your ability to do your best. Assure yourself that it’s okay to make some mistakes. For example, maybe you excel at managing projects but are challenged with reports and follow through.
   
3. Hold yourself accountable. At the same time, you’ll benefit from taking responsibility for your actions. Analyze situations with a view as to what you can do better instead of worrying about external conditions beyond your control.
   
4.   Set realistic goals. Ensure your expectations are reasonable. Progress often comes gradually. Most of us first learn to crawl, then walk, then run. Is it practical to think you could learn to count in preschool, then do Calculus in first grade? I have wasted time trying shortcuts only for it to take longer or have to start over.
   
5. Limit your risks. It’s easier to learn from mistakes if your health or life savings are not at stake. For instance, hold onto your day job while you research ideas for starting a business.
   
6. Engage in positive self-talk. If you’ve been called or call yourself negative things-STOP. You should be your biggest cheerleader! Love and believe in yourself-see your value. When all of those things aren’t enough, I rely on what God says about me. Psalm 139:14 is just one of many things He says about us. Remember past experiences where your efforts paid off. Give yourself credit for striving to do your best.
   
7. See the humor in your mistakes. Humor is another powerful antidote. Laughing at setbacks will reduce stress and help you recover faster. I learned to not take myself too seriously. I have to admit some of the things are funny, like what was I thinking…
   
8. Give praise strategically. Whether you’re talking with yourself, family, friends, or peers, praise effort rather than intelligence. It encourages you to focus on improving rather than trying to prove you’re smart, valuable, or good enough.
   
9. Seek advice from others. If you’re starting to see a pattern in your mistakes, it may help to get some outside assistance and feedback. It’s important to seek advice from someone who has your best interest at heart. Be wary of confiding with individuals who are like crabs in a barrel… you never need to put a cover on the barrel because as soon as one starts climbing up another pulls him back down.
   
10. Appreciate the value of a sincere apology. The most painful mistakes we make are often those that affect other people. The willingness to own offer a heartfelt apology and make appropriate restitution helps both parties to heal and move on with their lives.

Position Yourself For Growth – Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

1. Take on tough challenges. Venturing into new areas gives us more opportunities to learn. Stretch beyond your usual boundaries. If your day job is in accounting, volunteer as a tour guide at a local attraction. You get it, right? The idea is to stretch yourself so that you become comfortable despite the situation.
   
2. Make educated guesses. Studies show that students acquire more knowledge and retain it longer when they guess at the answers before looking them up. Brainstorm how you would approach a home repair job before consulting a guidebook.
   
3. Test yourself. It also helps to test yourself on what you know in order to improve your recall. When you’re learning a new language, drill yourself on vocabulary and grammar. Pick out the questions you get wrong so you can study and test yourself again.

Transform Mistakes Into Opportunities

We all make mistakes, so seize the opportunity to make them work for you. By focusing on getting better at any task, you’ll stay motivated, experience less anxiety, and learn more.

ACTION STEPS:

• Accept that mistakes and failure or part of your journey to success
• Work on your self-love and acceptance, understanding what you do isn’t who you are.
• Fai forward. Learn, revise your game plan, and use the expereince to move forward.
• Print this week’s Overcoming Challenges Checklist and post it somewhere visible to be consntly reminded how to transform mistakes into opportunities.

You got this!!! XOXO

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