Mistakes: Chances to learn

Do you get hung up or stuck when you think you've made a mistake? Is it difficult for you to move on? To forgive yourself—or others—for mistakes made? Here are a couple tips to help you move on:

First, how you view your mistakes makes a difference. If you see them as signs of failure on your part (or on the part of someone else), you quite likely will miss the opportunity to learn something from those experiences. If you can see mistakes as chances to learn, you'll be amazed at how much growth and transformation is possible. It seems to be true that we learn more from our mistakes than we'll ever learn from our successes.

Eleanor Roosevelt even said we can learn from the mistakes of others, for, as she put it, "You can't live long enough to make them all yourself." And that points to another key to moving on after mistakes: Keep a sense of humor about it. That's the second thing to remember.

Third, forgive yourself—and others—when you or they goof up. That, too, will help you avoid entering a stuck place in your life.

Some mistakes truly do lead to serious and tragic consequences. Most don't, however. So keep an open mind, a sense of humor and an attitude of forgiveness. You'll be amazed at how much you learn and how much better you feel.