George Washington, on his first military campaign, made a terrible mistake. The American colonies had not yet rebelled – that was 20 years down the road. At that time, Washington was working for Britain, which was in a "cold war" with France. The two countries were tussling with each other for territory all over the world, including the area near Virginia.
One day, Washington and his troops spotted a party of French camping in their territory, and attacked them, killing ten men and capturing the rest. He shot first and asked questions later. He found out it was a diplomatic party, and one of the men he killed was an important French ambassador.
Washington had made a big mistake. The two major military powers of that time ended their cold war and entered a hot war.
Now, imagine if you were Washington and you made that mistake. What would you tell yourself about it? How would the mistake fit into the overall pattern of your life?
"Mistakes are a part of being human," author Al Franken wrote in 2002’s Oh, The Things I Know.’ "Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it’s a fatal mistake which, at least, others can learn from."
"When you make a mistake, don’t look back at it long," suggests Hugh White. "Take the reason of the thing into your mind and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power."
Here’s another one from Hollywood actress Mary Pickford: "If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you." To which Norman Vincent Peale adds, "No matter what mistakes you may have made – no matter how you’ve messed things up – you still can make a new beginning. The person who fully realizes this suffers less from the shock and pain of failure and sooner gets off to a new beginning."
At one time, I came across a poster which has these thought-provoking lines: "A doctor’s mistake is buried. A lawyer’s mistake is imprisoned. An accountant’s mistake is jailed. A dentist’s mistake is pulled. A pharmacist’s mistake is dead. A plumber’s mistake is stopped. An electrician’s mistake is shocking. A carpenter’s mistake is sawdust. A teacher’s mistake is failed. A printer’s mistake is redone. And yours?"
Well, don’t worry about committing mistakes. God has given us the power to make our own choice. After all, as Mahatma Gandhi puts it, "Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes."
If you fail in the beginning, well, that is not the end of the world. Why don’t you try and try again until you succeed. Remember Abraham Lincoln’s road to the White House? He failed in business in 1831 and was defeated for legislature in 1832. His second failure in business took place in 1833. He suffered a nervous breakdown in 1836.
Seven more defeats happened: for Speaker in 1838, for Elector in 1840, for Congress in 1843, for Congress again in 1848, for Senate in 1855, for Vice President in 1856, and for Senate in 1858. He became the 17th president of the United States in 1860. He was reelected in 1864.
Don’t worry about committing errors. Scientist Albert Einstein himself admitted, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Elbert Hubbard agrees: "The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually fear you will make one."
Once you have committed a mistake, try to correct it. "When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from it – immediately," Stephen R. Covey suggests. Confucius also reminds, "A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake."
And never, never cry over spilled milk. Here’s what Jerry Gillies said, "I have made decisions that turned out to be wrong, and went back and did it another way, and still took less time than many who procrastinated over the original decision. Your brain is capable of handling 140, 000 million bits of information in one second, and if you take hours or days or weeks to reach a vital decision, you are short-circuiting your most valuable property."
This reminds me of the story of Reuben Gonzolas, who was in the final match of his first professional racquetball tournament. He was playing the perennial champion for his first shot at a victory on the pro circuit. At match point in the fifth and final game, he made a super "kill shot" into the front corner to win the tournament. The referee called it good, and one of the linemen confirmed the shot was a winner.
But after a moment’s hesitation (no, it didn’t took him several hours or days!), Gonzolas turned and declared that his shot had skipped into the wall, hitting the floor first. As a result, the serve went to his opponent, who went on to win the match. The question is: Was it a mistake for him to admit the "error"?
"To avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the biggest mistake of all," reminded Peter McWilliams. He also said, "Mistakes, obviously, show us what needs improving. Without mistakes, how would we know what we had to work on?"
According to a report, when Gonzolas walked off the court, everyone was stunned. So much so that the next issue of a leading racquetball magazine featured Gonzolas on its cover. The lead editorial searched and questioned for an explanation for the first ever occurrence on the professional racquetball circuit. "Who could ever imagine it in any sport or endeavor?" it inquired. "Here was a player with everything officially in his favor, with victory in his grasp, who disqualifies himself at match point and loses."
When asked by news reporters why he did it, Gonzolas replied, "It was the only thing I could do to maintain my integrity."
We must never overlook the untold benefits that can be derived from mistakes. A person should never hesitate to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying in other words that he is wiser today than he was yesterday, because of his mistake.
What did Nadine Stair say again about committing blunders in life? "If I had my life to live over," she declared, "I’d dare to make more mistakes next time."
One day, Washington and his troops spotted a party of French camping in their territory, and attacked them, killing ten men and capturing the rest. He shot first and asked questions later. He found out it was a diplomatic party, and one of the men he killed was an important French ambassador.
Washington had made a big mistake. The two major military powers of that time ended their cold war and entered a hot war.
Now, imagine if you were Washington and you made that mistake. What would you tell yourself about it? How would the mistake fit into the overall pattern of your life?
"Mistakes are a part of being human," author Al Franken wrote in 2002’s Oh, The Things I Know.’ "Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it’s a fatal mistake which, at least, others can learn from."
"When you make a mistake, don’t look back at it long," suggests Hugh White. "Take the reason of the thing into your mind and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power."
Here’s another one from Hollywood actress Mary Pickford: "If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you." To which Norman Vincent Peale adds, "No matter what mistakes you may have made – no matter how you’ve messed things up – you still can make a new beginning. The person who fully realizes this suffers less from the shock and pain of failure and sooner gets off to a new beginning."
At one time, I came across a poster which has these thought-provoking lines: "A doctor’s mistake is buried. A lawyer’s mistake is imprisoned. An accountant’s mistake is jailed. A dentist’s mistake is pulled. A pharmacist’s mistake is dead. A plumber’s mistake is stopped. An electrician’s mistake is shocking. A carpenter’s mistake is sawdust. A teacher’s mistake is failed. A printer’s mistake is redone. And yours?"
Well, don’t worry about committing mistakes. God has given us the power to make our own choice. After all, as Mahatma Gandhi puts it, "Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes."
If you fail in the beginning, well, that is not the end of the world. Why don’t you try and try again until you succeed. Remember Abraham Lincoln’s road to the White House? He failed in business in 1831 and was defeated for legislature in 1832. His second failure in business took place in 1833. He suffered a nervous breakdown in 1836.
Seven more defeats happened: for Speaker in 1838, for Elector in 1840, for Congress in 1843, for Congress again in 1848, for Senate in 1855, for Vice President in 1856, and for Senate in 1858. He became the 17th president of the United States in 1860. He was reelected in 1864.
Don’t worry about committing errors. Scientist Albert Einstein himself admitted, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." Elbert Hubbard agrees: "The greatest mistake you can make in life is to continually fear you will make one."
Once you have committed a mistake, try to correct it. "When you make a mistake, admit it, correct it, and learn from it – immediately," Stephen R. Covey suggests. Confucius also reminds, "A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake."
And never, never cry over spilled milk. Here’s what Jerry Gillies said, "I have made decisions that turned out to be wrong, and went back and did it another way, and still took less time than many who procrastinated over the original decision. Your brain is capable of handling 140, 000 million bits of information in one second, and if you take hours or days or weeks to reach a vital decision, you are short-circuiting your most valuable property."
This reminds me of the story of Reuben Gonzolas, who was in the final match of his first professional racquetball tournament. He was playing the perennial champion for his first shot at a victory on the pro circuit. At match point in the fifth and final game, he made a super "kill shot" into the front corner to win the tournament. The referee called it good, and one of the linemen confirmed the shot was a winner.
But after a moment’s hesitation (no, it didn’t took him several hours or days!), Gonzolas turned and declared that his shot had skipped into the wall, hitting the floor first. As a result, the serve went to his opponent, who went on to win the match. The question is: Was it a mistake for him to admit the "error"?
"To avoid situations in which you might make mistakes may be the biggest mistake of all," reminded Peter McWilliams. He also said, "Mistakes, obviously, show us what needs improving. Without mistakes, how would we know what we had to work on?"
According to a report, when Gonzolas walked off the court, everyone was stunned. So much so that the next issue of a leading racquetball magazine featured Gonzolas on its cover. The lead editorial searched and questioned for an explanation for the first ever occurrence on the professional racquetball circuit. "Who could ever imagine it in any sport or endeavor?" it inquired. "Here was a player with everything officially in his favor, with victory in his grasp, who disqualifies himself at match point and loses."
When asked by news reporters why he did it, Gonzolas replied, "It was the only thing I could do to maintain my integrity."
We must never overlook the untold benefits that can be derived from mistakes. A person should never hesitate to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying in other words that he is wiser today than he was yesterday, because of his mistake.
What did Nadine Stair say again about committing blunders in life? "If I had my life to live over," she declared, "I’d dare to make more mistakes next time."
