Do you suffer from a fear of mistakes? Many of us do, especially when we’re a business owner, with responsibility for the livelihoods of our employees and business partners. We think about the possible consequences of making the wrong choice and how it will affect the growth trajectory of the company as well as those supporting it.
Fear Prevents Us From Moving Forward
Often, the fear of making mistakes prevents us from making any decision at all and freezes us from taking any action. Understand that keeping your company from moving forward and remain trapped in indecision IS a mistake. Making your best educated choice and moving forward will generate a result – what you do with that result is up to you.
The good news is that there is a way of working toward conquering that fear, and it’s propelled by changing your attitude. First, acknowledge that past errors, mistakes and negative experiences do not stop the development process. In fact, mistakes should be recognized and appreciated as contributions to the learning process.
Use Mistakes to Help You Grow
The most successful companies examine errors and use them as feedback for growth. Have you ever heard the phrase “A set back is a set up for a comeback?” It’s attributed to the book by the same title by Willie Jolley.
There will be plenty of opportunities in your company’s lifespan for growth, and just as many opportunities for wrong choices to happen. The best outcome is to not only recover but also use that mistake: admit it, learn from it, adjust your thinking and redirect necessary efforts toward the intended goal.
Instead of focusing on what could have been or what should have been done, turn your attention to the positive. Deliberately forget the error and dwell upon the successful aspects of the attempt. No one likes to make mistakes, however everyone does make them.
If you continue to dwell in the past and criticize yourself for your previous errors, you will perpetuate the very behavior you want to change. The moment you adjust your mindset and stop giving power to past mistakes, you will be freed from the grip the past mistakes had on you.
Mistakes Have a Place and a Purpose
Errors are road signs to direct you on your journey to personal success and achievement. They are necessary in the learning process. When they have served their purpose, move on past them. Have you ever heard a business leader admit that they have no idea how they managed to reached a certain goal? While it seems that they “lucked out”, the reality is that they never had the advantage of learning from a wrong choice. Yes, a wrong choice can give you the advantage of learning valuable lessons so that you don’t make that same mistake again.
Step Up and Take The Power
Take responsibility for your past mistakes. Shifting blame on others actually robs you of the empowering feeling of owning the situation. When you point the finger at others, you hide from the truth and lose the chance to learn from the experience.
Your attitudes determine your growth and success. You have the power to overcome negative conditioning and fill your mind with positive thoughts.
Failure is a state of mind. Successful people view setbacks as learning experiences and bounce back even stronger … every time.
If you would like to learn more feel free to reach out to me, Bertha Robinson at 732.705.5060 or visit my website staroneprofessional.com