Fear, Forgiveness, and Freedom
October 8th, 2008. Published under The Ultimate You. No Comments.
Mistakes and failure scare us, sometimes even to the point of paralysis. Many people replay their errors in their mind over and over, kicking themselves repeatedly. In essence, these people are stuck in the moment.
If you find yourself in a constant cycle of blame, stop for a moment and step back from the situation. Put your error in perspective: did you say the wrong thing to your supervisor or did you cost your company thousands of dollars? In either case, admitting that you made a mistake is the first step to minimizing its effects.
After you have made amends at work, you must forgive yourself. Figure out what you have learned from this experience and move forward. Every experience makes you wiser, if you treat life as a learning experience. Trial-and-error was key to learning when we were children; there is no reason that should stop now.
Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” When you master your fear of failure and forgive yourself, you gain the freedom to try new things and the wisdom to make the best of your situation.