Morning Motivation: It’s OK to Make Mistakes

One thing standing in the way of happiness for many people is long-held guilt over something that happened days, weeks, months, or even years ago. A twinge of guilt can be very useful in letting us know that we took a wrong turn somewhere, but long-held guilt offers absolutely no benefit at all. What do we cling to that is so unforgivable? When a beloved child makes a mistake, does their mistake suddenly turn them into a wretched and unforgivable sinner? The spiritual Teachings tell us that nothing is unforgivable unless we withhold forgiveness from ourselves. For example, a Mohican Indian said, “To criticize ourselves when we make mistakes is not the Indian way. To learn from our mistakes is the Indian way. The definition of a spiritual person is someone who makes 30-50 mistakes each day and talks to the Creator after each one to see what to do next time. This is the way of the warrior.” We can learn from our mistakes and move forward guilt-free. Others agree with the idea that mistakes are to be embraced and learned from, not hidden sources of long-held guilt and shame:

• “What do you first do when you learn to swim? You make mistakes, do you not? And what happens? You make other mistakes, and when you have made all the mistakes you possibly can without drowning - and some of them many times over - what do you find? That you can swim? Well - life is just the same as learning to swim! Do not be afraid of making mistakes, for there is no other way of learning how to live!” – Dr. Alfred Adlerrn
• “A man's errors are his portals of discovery.” – James Joycern
• “The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way.” – Dale Carnegiern
• “Learn from the mistakes of others - you can never live long enough to make them all yourself.” – John Lutherrn
• “If I had my life to live over again, I'd dare to make more mistakes the next time.” – Nadir Stair

On this clean, new day full of shining possibilities and new beginnings, may you walk the way of the warrior: learn from your mistakes and move forward guilt-free! To read other motivational and inspirational thoughts throughout the day, follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/DrDebBrown