Gain Courage from Your Mistakes
It should be no surprise that our theme for this month is “courage.” It’s in our name, after all, and a big part of our mission is to empower caregivers with courage. We’re also about growth, and one of the best ways I know to achieve personal growth is our topic for this week: learning from our mistakes.
It takes courage to admit when we make a mistake, but admitting, accepting, analyzing, and learning from our mistakes are all important steps in personal growth. As I say often, I’m a perfectly imperfect work in progress. That’s because I know I make mistakes, just like anyone, but I also know that mistakes can be learning opportunities. I try to think of them as guideposts to help me on this journey – not as a sign of failure or weakness.
As caregivers, we know that mistakes are part of being human, but we can still be awfully good at self-judgment, self-shame, and self-blame when something we do just doesn’t go right. What we need to be better at is self-forgiveness. We need to realize that our mistakes do not define us … a bad choice does not make me a bad person … and our past does not define our future.
When we accept and admit our mistakes, and allow ourselves to self-forgive, we can respond in a way that leads to growth. This empowers us to build up our strength, confidence, and prospects for a better future. We are able to evaluate what went wrong, make a plan to take more appropriate action in the future, and perhaps even follow that guidepost down a better path that we had never considered before.
It’s also important to consider the effects of our response on those around us. As caregivers, we have a special place not only in the eyes of the loved ones we care for but also in others around us. Through our actions, we can set a strong example of integrity and honesty for others to follow when we take responsibility for our missteps, showing that making a mistake is not as important as how we react to it afterwards.
Notice … accept … explore … analyze … and self-forgive. You might be amazed at the effect this course of action will have on you and those around you. Then, you will understand that making a mistake does not diminish you in the eyes of others but can actually raise their impression of YOU.