We ALL make mistakes.

We ALL will continue to make mistakes.

We need mistakes for growth and development. They can be more instructive than our successes, if we let them.

We have a choice to see mistakes as failures or lessons.

The biggest mistake we can make is to not see the mistake for the learning opportunity it is!

When we see mistakes as failures, we cannot move forward to success.

How to know if you are missing the “lesson”:

1. You blame/criticize someone else for your pain.

2. You feel like a loser or failure, so you give up.

3. You beat up yourself.

4. You complain all the time about something negative in your life.

5. You avoid making a mistake by never starting something or failing to complete a task…and ultimately avoiding life!

6. Your “solutions” to the problem have negatively affected other areas of your life, such as some of your closest relationships.

7. You find yourself dealing with the same problem over and over.

When you are not learning the lesson life has for you, it’s a lot like sitting in the middle of a highway, beating up yourself or someone else. Sooner or later, you are going to get run over!

Tips for learning “lessons”  the first time around:

1. Find the “light.” Mistakes often light a path for you to put crucial problems in the forefront that could have positive impact. Similar to the 80/20 principle, what small effort could lead you to 80% of the outcome you want?

2. See the gift. Your mistakes contain a positive lesson. (Be careful the message you are choosing from the lesson is really helpful….not just exacerbating the pain.) You don’t have to be thankful FOR the painful situation, however, being thankful for the lesson IN the situation can move you forward out of pain.

3. Tell the truth. Own your mistakes. Own how YOU have played a part in what has happened. You only have control over what YOU have done or not done. Sharing honestly with yourself and others defuses your shame so you can move on.

4. Keep your promise. Mistakes are sometimes promises you have not kept with yourself or others. Recommit a sense of integrity with yourself. Realign with your core values and readjust your actions.

Get comfortable with your mistakes. Allow them to be “teachers” and learn from them. Then, move on!

Personal Discovery:

Think about a big mistake you have made…what YOU did and the consequences of that mistake in all areas of your life/relationships.

Consider several possible interpretations/messages of this event then choose the most helpful one.

From that interpretation, decide what YOU can do differently to avoid making the same mistake again.

“A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new.”  -Albert Einstein

“A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again. But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake all together.” -Roy H. Williams

Email Kim at kim@kimkompel.com if you would like to schedule a 30 minute inquiry session today!

Much joy and peace,

Kim