The Double-Sided Mistake

What Will You Do In The Face of Your Mistakes?

How to Make the Turn No One Expects? Part 2

Have you ever traveled in the wrong direction and refused to admit you’re headed in the wrong direction?

One of the hardest actions a human can make is admitting they’re wrong. I’d rather die than to admit I’m wrong. Oh, okay that might be just a little strong.  But short of death, falls my willingness to admit my mistakes. If this is you, it’s normal.  Every person makes mistakes, but how can we recover from them? Doing what’s natural, hiding them, covering them up, and overlooking them, isn’t the answer.  This normal behavior is what keeps us moving towards more of the same normal outcomes, so how can we benefit from making a mistake? How can we turn this bad experience of making a mistake into something beneficial?  To answer this question we need to look at two sides of the same coin.

In my pocket is a coin that I carry with me everyday.  On one side is the United State Capitol and on the other is the United States emblem.  While it’s not often, that I pay attention to either side, this coin is a reminder for me to take risks.  Risks similar to those of the men and women who formed this great country. Men and women who pursued their dreams and encourage us to do the same.  But what if this coin and its differing sides had unique meanings? Let’s pretend that side-1, the Capitol, represents “not admitting our mistakes” and side-2, the U.S. emblem, represents “admitting our mistakes.”  Let’s take a closer look at what happens when the coin falls on one side and then the other.

Coin Side-1: Normal is not admitting our mistakes.

If the coin for some reason lands on side-1, we can do what comes natural, but you must be prepared for what that does.  The person who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be a success. (Proverbs 28:13 LB)  If you never want to be successful, the easiest way to reach that goal is by never admitting your mistakes.  How many of us are puzzled as we try to advance in life only to find that we’re not progressing at all? Have we taken a step back to see how we’re handling the mistakes and missteps we’re making?  

Guys, never is a long time to have bad results.

Have you ever considered why we hate to admit our mistakes?  Most of us hate to look bad. We certainly hate to look inferior or as if we don’t know what we’re doing.  I’ve concluded that the real reason we hate to admit when we’re wrong is because the majority hate admitting that their wrong.  We certainly don’t want to single ourselves out, do we? We don’t like being wrong because that will single us out from the crowd in a negative light.  We never consider the thought that being singled out in a negative light will lead to us being singled out in a positive light, making us uncommon. You can see this by taking a look at side-two of this same coin.

Coin Side-2: Uncommon is admitting the mistakes we make.

If no one else admits their mistakes, why in the world would I admit mine?  There are two reasons: 1) you really don’t want to be like everyone else and 2) you want to be successful.  There’s a surefire way, a pattern to achieving success. There’s a patterned to achieving success in life, in your home, in your marriage, in your relationships, on the job, in your recreation, and even in your society.  

If we continue living by cultures patterns, we will end up unsuccessful.  We will continue to refuse to admit the truth about ourselves. When we make a mistake, we’re being presented with two options one to be unsuccessful and two another chance at success or to be uncommon.

A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful.  But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance. (Proverbs 28:13 LB)

I think I’ll make the decision to go with the later.  There is no way to be successful by practicing “normal” habits.  You can count on that. The phrase “But if he confesses…” implies that if we stop for a moment and make the turn no one expects, we can have the results no one expects.  This stuff sounds simple; it is. It’s just not “common.”

Here’s my takeaway.  I will begin this day practicing admitting mistakes quickly so that my mistakes don’t take me to a life of unsuccess, but give me another opportunity to be a success.  Will you do the same?

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