Have you ever made a mistake?  Raise your hand internally if you have.

My guess is that everyone reading this raised their hand.  Mistakes happen.  It’s part of the human condition.  Mistakes are frustrating, demoralizing, cause us worry, bring about shame and regret, and can leave us questioning ourselves.

Mistakes can also be our greatest springboard towards growth.  That is if we take the opportunity to thoughtfully reflect on them.

When I say thoughtfully reflect on them, I don’t mean rehashing the situation, beating yourself up over them, or getting into, “If only…” scenarios.  The mistake happened, may be currently happening, and still might happen in the future.

What we do have is the opportunity to take the mistake and learn from it.  What sort of growth can we find from that mistake?  How can we prevent it from happening again?  If we can’t prevent it, how can we lessen the chances of it happening again or lessen the impact of the mistake in the future?

Take the time to follow up with yourself as well as those around you.  You might be surprised what comes out of it.