By Cheryl Ann Mwende

Did you know that accepting and learning from your mistakes can boost your determination to reach your goals? Making mistakes is a learning process: Some mistakes might seem like the end of the world, however, they may give you a perfect opportunity to learn from, grow and improve yourself.

As we may learn from the experience of one of the most notable inventors; Thomas Edison, who invented the light bulb. His teachers said he was too stupid to learn anything. He was fired from his first two jobs for being non-productive. As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. Shedding some light – all pun intended, It’s obvious for something to be successful or for something to work out, you have to try over and over again. Fall down nine and stand up ten kind of attitude always leads to success. Consider a toddler who is learning how to walk, they fall so many times, try over and over again and finally they walk after learning how to stand properly and how to move their feet.

We all make mistakes which is part of us being human. However, most of us tend to try and avoid them. We tend to view them as obstacles to our success rather than bridges to success. It’s normal for people to dwell on what they did and regret their actions but what you need to know is that you learn and grow the most not from your success but from your failures and mistakes. We ought to understand that those mistakes are important and we can use them to our best advantage. You can only learn from a mistakes after you admit you’ve made it. Acknowledging that what is done can’t be undone but can be prevented from happening again is what separates successful people from the crowds.

We must learn to embrace our mistakes and see them for the lessons they offer. If you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, pushing and changing yourself. You are doing things you have never done before, and more importantly you are doing something. Think back to all the mistakes you have made in life and consider the skills your mistakes taught you, strengthened you and shaped your personality.

The fear of being nothing, achieving nothing, and becoming nothing should be much bigger than the fear of making mistakes. Always remember that mistakes are an integral part of life and learning from mistakes is success.