It’s Mental Health Awareness Month and we’re kicking this month off by talking about Mistakes and how to make them work in your favor! 

Have you ever made a mistake and punish yourself for an extended period of time after the mistake was made? Whether replaying the event over and over, talking to yourself in a negative way, living in fear or simply not owning up to the mistake, making a mistake can appear to be the end of it all. Although making a mistake can be defeating and honestly quite frustrating, how we respond to a mistake exposes what we believe about ourselves, others and the world around us. Although we feel like we don’t have any control over our mistakes there are some ways we can still win. Here’s four ways your mistakes can motivate and inspire: 

1. Reflecting on a mistake increases success the next time the event takes place. No you know what not to do, the hope is that you’ll face the event differently. When we make mistakes it’s okay to meditate what we would have done differently and use that conversation to increase our success the next time. You can face that event with a new perspective and increased confidence that you can handle it differently this time. 

2. Making a mistake leaves room for personal growth. Ask yourself, why did the mistake happen? Was the mistake based on irrational thinking, lack of resources, little time, human error? With this kind of clarity you can identify your own areas of growth so that the mistake happens less.

3. Making a mistake teaches us valuable lessons about our feelings. If we are hard on ourselves this communicates how deeply affected we were about the event. I’d stretch and say it’s a feeling you don’t enjoy. If those feelings alter the way you see yourself, then we want to change our behavior. Conducting a body scan can teach you about how a mistake made you feel so you’re inspired to approach the situation differently. 

4. Making a mistake identifies where self-compassion is needed. How long did you punish yourself after a mistake was made? Did you call yourself names? Did you self-destruct or emotionally deflate. Did you give up your dreams? Did you act irrationally that led to a bigger problem? Did you lose yourself? That’s okay. You always want to honor your feelings at every stage - recognize them, identify them and call them by name and then give yourself grace. Giving grace means accepting it. Once you’ve accepted it, you can approach it differently.