Don’t Be Discouraged by Mistakes: Learn from Them

We all make mistakes, especially when building a business from the ground up

Humans make mistakes. It’s what we do. But what sets successful leaders apart is how they handle these mistakes and use them to their advantage.

You may be thinking, easier said than done. And it’s true that everyone is bound to feel down after failure, no matter how small. But remember: everyone makes mistakes, and it’s all about perspective.

Here’s a deeper look at how to change your perception of failure and turn mistakes into opportunities to learn something valuable.

View mistakes as gifts of wisdom

What if instead of beating yourself up over a mistake, you actually view it as a gift?

Successful entrepreneur and author Damion Lupo makes the case for the gift of errors. He says, “Mistakes are the universe gifting us wisdom, wrapped up inside the struggles in life.”

We wouldn’t ever learn anything without mistakes. Think about it. How would we know what works without knowing what doesn’t? How would we know what makes us happy without knowing what we dislike? How do we find our unique talents without ruling out weaknesses?

As we make mistakes throughout our lives, we are unfortunately taught that mistakes are negative. That they’re bad. Avoid them at all costs!

This just sets us up to believe we can become perfect beings, which is just not realistic. I repeat: perfection does not exist!

To truly succeed, embrace mistakes. They allow us to become wiser and learn about ourselves and the world. Taking chances means you run the risk of failure. And without risk, entrepreneurs would never succeed in big ways.

Acknowledge your mistakes

So now that you know that mistakes are gifts of wisdom, don’t forget to acknowledge them. There’s nothing worse than a leader sugar coating his or her own faults and not owning up to failure.

By acknowledging a mistake, you’re setting an example for other people who can also learn from that gift of wisdom and use it in their own efforts. Employees will feel comfortable approaching leadership with their own mistakes if open communication about them is the standard.

Without acknowledgment, mistakes will likely continue to be made. Refusing to accept that you made a misstep will not allow you to learn from it fully, and you’ll continue to do the same thing over and over again.

Face failure head-on, learn from it and move on.

Find your source of resilience

If you are struggling with either accepting failure or finding a learning opportunity within it, this strategy is for you.

Resilience is not always easy to come by, but when you’re an entrepreneur, it’s one of the most important attributes to work toward over time. This resilience is within you, and no one else can build it up for you.

Think about the passion you have for your business and your mission. This passion is about having faith in your goals and your talents. And, most importantly, loving what you do.

When you can truly connect to that inner passion, you’ll find resilience against whatever mistakes you make. When desire is driving you forward, failures become stepping stones to conquer rather than barricades.

Tap into the limitless resources within you when you’re struggling. Remember there’s a reason that you’re doing what you’re doing.

Celebrate wins, don’t dwell on failures

Because we’re never going to be perfect, it’s pointless to dwell on mistakes. You messed up—so what? Forgive yourself.

Instead, celebrate your wins and successes. Those are the things worth dwelling on.

A small win could even be noticing a mistake or turning a failure around. The first step of learning from failure is recognizing failure and acknowledging it. Dwelling on a mistake and beating yourself up for it for days is not part of the learning process.

Getting down on yourself will do nothing to move you forward. Viewing mistakes this way is how you’ll be able to learn from them and truly see them as a positive.

There’s no “perfect” time

Finally, remember that there’s no perfect time to do anything. Whether you’re just starting out or trying to take your business to the next level, go for it. Now.

While a solid plan is necessary, remember that there are always going to be obstacles in your way. One of these things is a failure. No business is going to do every single thing right the first time and succeed without making mistakes.

Let go of your dream of perfectionism. There’s no perfect way to do something, and there’s no perfect time.

Entrepreneur Jim Palmer says that the idea of perfectionism is a “business killer” because it kills momentum. If you think everything has to align and be perfect, you’ll stop moving your business forward.

Instead, he says you should strive to be viewed for “the value of the content, information or service and not on the imperfect way you do it.”

Start being comfortable with being uncomfortable, and take some risks.

Success is a long process that’s made up of many small steps. Many of these steps will be mistakes, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Remember to view these mistakes as gifts of wisdom. Acknowledge your error and move on. Find your inner source of resilience to help you stay positive. Don’t forget to celebrate wins, however small. And let go of your ideas of perfectionism.

With these tools in hand, you’re ready to learn from your mistakes.

Paper Napkin Wisdom is here to help your business succeed. Our podcasts and blog posts are great resources for the modern entrepreneur, and our business success tools can transform your business plan into one that works. To learn more, get in touch with us today.