Mistakes can be good?
by Lori Lehman
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.”
John Wooden
The short answer is yes; mistakes can be good for you. But let's talk about why that is.
Whether you are an adult or a child, mistakes and the process of making mistakes can be a good thing. We certainly don’t encourage people to intentionally make mistakes, and you won’t benefit from that anyway. But learning and growth only happens when we are vulnerable enough to allow for mistakes to happen. It is commonly understood that humans are flawed, which means we make mistakes. This article will dive into how and why mistakes are good, and how we can maximize the benefits we get from them.
Mistakes often lead to new ideas
History shows us that mistakes are part of the process of learning and invention. At times, it has been the mistake that was the scientific breakthrough. Cornflakes were invented by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and his brother Will Kellogg in 1894. The duo was trying to find a healthy breakfast food that could be mass-produced and sold to Americans. They tried unsuccessfully for some time to find a way to make the healthy dough flake up when baked. It wasn’t until one of the brothers left the dough out overnight that it became dry and stale. The brothers baked it anyway and discovered that this created light, crunchy flakes. Will Kellogg continued to work with this new twist until he eventually created the cornflakes we know and eat today. Penicillin, the x-ray, Velcro, and the microwave oven can all attribute their success to mistakes.
Mistakes help us to learn more
I think the worst phrase in the English language is “I don’t know”. Not because we should be expected to know everything, but because people often use it as a way to avoid putting in the effort to find the answer. I vowed never to have to say the phrase “I don’t know” to the same question more than once. If I am asked a question that I don’t know the answer to, I will find the answer so I am prepared the next time I am asked. This philosophy has helped me learn about many things that I normally would not have spent the time to learn.
In our programs, it is precisely because mistakes are made that students have the opportunity to master that particular skill. A perfect example of this is our Sight Word Box. Students in our reading program are given a list of sight words. If they are unable to correctly read a word within a second or two, the word will be put on an index card and added to their sight word box. These words must be read correctly and immediately no less than seven times before the word can graduate out of the box. It is because students make ‘mistakes’ on these words that they end up mastering them, possibly much better than if they hadn’t made the mistake in the first place.
Mistakes are proof that you are trying
The best part of mistakes is that they show you are trying. A person who never or rarely makes mistakes is not pushing themselves to achieve new and harder things. Always being correct means that you are never moving outside of your skill set enough to make significant growth. It can also be a sign of a closed mindset because you may be afraid to make mistakes in front of others. Allowing yourself to try even when you may make a mistake shows that you are confident enough to know that mistakes don’t reflect poorly on you or your character. People do not lose value when they make a mistake, though it can be hard for learners to be brave enough to risk raising their hand in class. Talking with your kids about the value of mistakes can have hugely positive effects on their character and mental health.
Adults in the workplace can benefit from mistakes and a corporate culture that embraces mistakes rather than shaming them. Benjamin Laker writes about this in his article in the MIT Sloan Management Review. When mistakes are blamed and shamed, employees will be less likely to be innovative and take risks. They are also less likely to speak up when they discover a mistake for fear of retribution, which can cause more problems. From my own experience with this type of workplace, I found that I was so focused on not making a mistake that I made far more mistakes, I was less productive, and my overall work suffered.
We don’t advise that you go out into the world with the goal of making mistakes, but we do hope that this article has opened the door to accepting that mistakes are a good thing and a sign that you are pushing yourself to achieve greater success and growth. Helping your child learn the benefits of mistakes early will keep them open to new discoveries and not focus on perfection, which is never possible.