‘People who make a mistake, admit it, and adjust, learn things more effectively than those that get things right the first time.’ - William Vanderbloemen.
Vanderbloemen’s quote from his book ‘Be the Unicorn’ floored me. I shared it with my wife and began pontificating on its implications and applications. I got so lost in thought she made me stop talking. Side note: marry a person that makes you stop talking sometimes. Mistakes come in many different forms, yet they happen to all of us. It is a universal experience that we would all prefer to avoid. Iconic painter Bob Ross captured our aversion to making mistakes when he said, ‘When you’re painting, you don’t make mistakes. You just have happy little accidents.’ In his book Finish, Jon Acuff challenged readers to overcome their allergy to making mistakes when he said, ‘The opposite of perfect is finished.’ He implies that to finish anything of value, it will not be perfect. And why do we need to embrace mistakes? Because to refer back to the Vanderbloemen quote, it is the most effective way to learn something. Here are five ways you need to turn mistakes into the best teacher.
ATTEMPT IT - In 12 Rules for Life, Dr. Jordan Peterson noted that you must be willing to look foolish to accomplish anything. Coach Keith Allen, a dear friend and successful football coach, often quips, ‘Winning is reserved for those who take action.’ Former president of Bank of America, Samuel Armacost, once admonished his managers, ‘We will no longer sit back and learn from others’ mistakes before we decide what to do. Let others learn from us.’ The only mistake you cannot learn from is the mistake you didn’t make. Attempt it.
ADMIT IT - Legendary basketball coach Dean Smith often told his players to r-a-l-f their mistakes. Recognize it, admit it, learn from it, and forget it. We all willingly claim success, but did you know that you cannot claim credit for your success if you are not claiming responsibility for your mistakes? They are two sides of the same coin. Get going. Make your mistakes, and admit them when you do.
ASSESS IT - John Maxwell has written 65 books on leadership. He may be the most quotable person on earth. One of Maxwell’s most quoted statements is, ‘Experience is not the best teacher. Evaluated experience is the best teacher.’ A large part of the assessment is feedback. Feedback is to assessment as river systems are to lakes. Without a fresh source of water, lakes are just scumy ponds. Don’t be a scumy pond. Accept feedback and assess your mistake to learn from your mistake.
ADJUST - Albert Einstein was a smart man. He often said, ‘Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.’ Assessing mistakes is wasted time if you have no intention of changing. You must be willing to do the hard work of making a change. Don’t waste your mistake by not adjusting and trying again. It’s ok to make a mistake, but try not to make the same mistake twice.
ACCELERATE - The total of attempting, admitting, assessing, and adjusting is acceleration. One of the great lessons I have learned from my wife is the persistent power of what I call, ‘always fussing with something.’ She accomplishes much, not because the first attempt is successful, but because there will be as many attempts as it takes. Possibly, the great lesson of mistakes is the more you make, the more you learn, and ultimately the more you’ll accomplish.
Get going, friend. Attempt some stuff, admit you messed some of it up, assess where it went wrong, make your adjustments, and watch the results accelerate.
Keep on, keepin’ on!
Bite Down and Don’t Let Go is a collection of writings on relentlessly leading yourself and others well. Read about it more here. You can listen to the Bite Down and Don't Let Go podcast here!
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader with more than two decades of experience. He’s earned a few degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school sweetheart, and they have three children. Life is messy and complicated most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter for inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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