Mistakes are a natural part of life. We all make them — and goodness only knows, I have personally made more than my share!

One of the challenges in today’s world is the plethora of online “gurus” and so-called experts seeking to show you how to be successful, wealthy, famous, and anything else you’d want. Part of what they promise is that they’ll provide the solution to whatever your problem might be in business or life. Sometimes that message is wrapped in an air of invincibility that may lead some to imagine that their prospective teacher has never failed or made their own missteps – or that the teacher’s slight errors will prevent you from making any blunders of your own.

The difficulty with this approach — and I certainly hope I’m not guilty of it, as all I’m trying to do is deliver insights that will assist you — is that we all must make our own mistakes and learn from them in order to progress. Mistakes can teach us important lessons and help us to become better people.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not suggesting that we should be out there intentionally making blunders! However, it’s impossible to stand out if we are in fear of not always being correct or impeccable. There are no distinctive organizations or leaders who haven’t made significant errors in judgement or choices at some point!

An essential step is understanding that personal responsibility is critical when it comes to moving up from mistakes. We must take ownership of our mistakes and learn from them. This process is not always easy, but it is essential for growth. Blaming others or our circumstances might make us feel momentary vindication for our errors, but it is also a roadblock to personal and professional development.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for dealing with mistakes. What works for one person may not work for another. However, seven principles will help you find your way forward:

1. Accept responsibility for your mistakes. This is the first and most crucial step. Denial will only prolong the pain and prevent you from learning the lessons you need to know. You must own up to your mistakes in order to move on from them.
2. Acknowledge your mistakes to yourself and others. This can be difficult, but it is essential for rebuilding trust and relationships. Trust is vital for any healthy relationship. Honesty is always the best policy. It’s also a necessary aspect of building and maintaining trust with those you work with and live around.
3. Seek forgiveness from those who you have harmed. This is not always possible or necessary, but it can be a helpful step in the process of moving on. Forgiveness can help to heal old wounds and allow you to move forward with your life.
4. Learn the lessons your mistakes have to offer. Ask yourself what you can do differently in the future to avoid making similar mistakes. What went wrong? What could you have done differently? How can you prevent similar mistakes in the future? These are tough questions to answer, but they’re fundamental for learning and growth. Mistakes can teach us important lessons if we are open to learning from them.
5. Seek out support from others. We all need, as the Beatles sang, a little help from our friends. Talk to someone you trust about your mistakes and how you’re feeling. This can be a great way to get some perspective and start moving on.
6. Forgive yourself. This can be difficult but is essential. We all make mistakes; it’s part of being human. What counts is how we learn from our mistakes and become better people and professionals as a result. Obsessing over your errors with anger and resentment will only eat away at you and prevent you from moving forward.
7. Put your mistakes behind you. Once you have learned from your mistakes and taken the previous steps listed here, it’s now time to put them behind you and move on. This doesn’t mean forgetting about what happened; it just means that you refuse to continue dwelling on it. As the old saying goes, there’s a reason the windshield is larger than the rearview mirror. You have to keep looking forward. Holding onto mistakes will only drag you down and prevent you from achieving your fullest potential.

My great friend, Skip Prichard, wrote a remarkable book about this subject — it’s even titled “The Book of Mistakes.” I highly recommend it.

Mistakes are a natural part of life, but that doesn’t mean we have to like them! As mentioned earlier, I’ve certainly made them — and will undoubtedly continue to do so. However, it’s impossible to create distinction without sometimes making a misstep. Move on from your mistakes and continue progressing in your personal and professional life.

One way to avoid unnecessary mistakes – or to maximize what you learn from them – is through professional coaching. We offer coaching to a limited, select few leaders. If you’d like more information on our Distinctive Coaching, just reach out to us and let’s talk!