“How many people have made a mistake and then think: ‘I’m not coming back from this’,” April Lovett, Host and Co-Creator of the Success in Black and White Podcast says. “Your mistake can feel like the worst thing that’s ever happened while in the moment; but the reality is that mistakes are not only commonplace, they are actually essential for personal growth.”
“Mistakes are only beneficial if you correct your behavior and learn from them, though,” cautions Darryl Lovett, Host and Co-Creator of the Success in Black and White Podcast.
Use the 3 tips below to not only move on from your mistakes but to also learn from them.
1. Throw a pity party. “Throwing yourself a pity party right after you realize you made a mistake is actually essential to the rebounding process,” says Darryl. “That way, you can let out the emotions you feel about the situation. Feel angry or sad about it? Let yourself feel that. That way, when you move on from those feelings, you’ve dealt with them already so that the rest of the process will be more productive.”
2. Acknowledgement. “You have to be honest with yourself about how the mistake happened. You can’t make excuses or pass blame, even though those are both usually the human default,” Darryl says.
“Once you can take ownership of a mistake, you can begin to either make it right or move forward from it,” says April. “This step is important because taking ownership gives you responsibility for your mistake. This may mean that the blame is on you, but it also means the ability to correct it is on you. Figure out if the mistake is fixable and do what you can to fix it. If it’s not, move on.”
3. Make a plan. “You can’t bounce back if you don’t have a plan of where you’re going to bounce to,” Darryl quips. “It’s important to sit down and map out how you will fix the mistake if it’s fixable. More importantly though, and where personal growth process comes into play, is that you want to plan so that you won’t make the same mistake in the future,” Darryl says.
Want more of this conversation? Tune in to the episode of the podcast below to hear Darryl & April’s conversation on “Rebounding From Your Mistakes”
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