Mistakes are a part of everyday life. Someone makes the wrong move, takes the wrong path or says the wrong thing. So many people believe that they are defined by a moment in their lives in which the wrong choice has to ultimately take charge of the rest of their lives. Why is it that so many people believe in this?
For many (and I’ve been on the same boat before) mistakes define our lives. We become too anxious to take a risk because we are so terrified to make a mistake again. That or we repeat the same mistake over and over and over again and it never gets solved. I used to be the same way, always too scared of making the same mistake that I actually would end up making the mistake over and over again. Three years ago that all changed for me, making me believe anyone can overcome their fear of mistakes.
I heard the wisest words on mistakes three years ago from Kevin Day who was a clinician at East Carolina University’s Summer Band Camp while I was attending a private lesson. Every time I made a mistake I would focus on it so much that I was not correcting it and also messing up on others areas of the music. I was so focused so much on my mistake that it was making me nervous and caused me to mess up even more. He asked me to stop and told me that “Mistakes will happen. It is up to you on whether you will determine yourself to correct it before continuing on with the piece. Correct it, never make the mistake again, and move on with the piece.” I have lived by those words ever since.
How do I personally interpret that into life? I take it as there will be areas in life that will go wrong. You will worry about just one past mistake and you will start to allow it to shape other parts of your life. If you don’t take action to either correct the mistake or learn from it, the mistake will negatively impact not only one but multiple areas of your life. Your life is like a composed piece, there are bumps and tricky areas, but if you learn from and fix your mistakes you piece (aka. life) will fall in place.
In my opinion, mistakes are not what define us, it is how we adapt or overcome the mistakes that define us. Do you keep falling into the same rut or do you pick yourself up and take charge of your life? A mistake could go one of two ways: either negatively and cause you to have regrets and sorrows or positively and can lead to you learning something new and learning to move on and grow from a bad situation. Mistakes will happen, but it is ultimately your choice on if you will live in that mistake or pick yourself up and do something about it. Are you ready to be free? Then step out and take a step towards taking charge of your life.
