Using mistakes as opportunities

We all make mistakes from time to time, but what really matters is how we deal with them. We can simply correct them and move on (which is often the appropriate action) or we can use them as opportunities to further enrich our lives.

Learning opportunities

Throughout my life some of my best learning has come from making mistakes, as a deeper impression is left afterwards, about the better way to undertake things, than if I had done things correctly in the first place. For instance, years ago as a student on a Social Work Practicum at Centrelink, I learnt a lot from handling a drunk and abusive client inappropriately, and have used this learning in interacting with difficult people since then.

Creative opportunities

Correcting mistakes can lead to new creations, and I've always wondered how many knitting stitches have been invented this way. An initially wrong hypothesis about a client can lead me to explore aspects of their lives that otherwise may not have been covered, adding additional information to work with, as a new hypothesis is formed.

A metaphor from nature

The Walls of China in Mungo National Park in western NSW are considered an amazing natural attraction, and yet they would not exist if people in the past had not made the mistake of running sheep in fragile land, thus causing massive erosion. Nature then took the erosion and formed a remarkable landscape.

A great little book

Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg is all about turning things like torn pages, dog eared pages, splotches, holes, scrunched up paper, and other imperfections into new creations. It is especially good for those who are inclined to be perfectionists.

What opportunities can mistakes bring for you?