"If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner."
Norman Parkinson, British Vogue, November 1956.
"The only thing I regret about my past is the length of it. If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner." - Talulah Bankhead
At some point in our lives, we come to the simple realization that no matter how diligent, thoughtful or hardworking we are, only one thing is for certain: mistakes. are. inevitable.
Mistakes happen everywhere and to everyone. Maybe your latest faux pas was small, maybe it was big. Maybe you laughed off the mistake with a friend, or maybe it's too embarrassing to even speak aloud. Either way, thinking back on a mistake can often trigger a cringe or a full-on panic. But why are we so adverse to the occasional unintentional mistake? Why do we put off mistakes, why aren't we brave enough to make mistakes sooner?
When we were young, many of us came to connect mistakes to the proverbial slap on the wrist. That being said, what if we took away this negative connotation, and evaluated mistakes for their positive potential instead? After all, we can't control the mistake and keep it from happening, but we can control how we react to our mistakes and that of others.
So next time a mistake happens, embrace it. Forgive yourself, forgive others. Acknowledge it, take note, then let it go. Mistakes are a catalyst of change, a chance to expand. And above all, remember that mistakes in any situation are just a lesson, and life would be quite dull if we were to say to "no" to learning something new.