4 Tips to Help You Avoid Mistakes Next Time

I have failed so many times in my life that I have stopped counting. One of my mistakes was when I was homeless in London for 5 days.

Note: This article is by Darius Foroux, who tells the story of his fatal mistakes and the lessons he learned from them.

This may sound like an interesting story now, but I was very afraid at that time. I had moved to London with no friends or family, and then I had been evicted from my flat with no new place to live.

I made another serious mistake when I sent a contract for a consulting deal worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to a competitor of my client. It was an inadvertent mistake, as both men had the same name but worked for different companies.

I was so excited to send the contract that I sent it so quickly once I wrote the first two letters of the man's name, at which time I worked for a major reputable IT consulting firm, and it almost cost me my job.

I made a lot of mistakes like that. Once I invested a lot of money in the pension fund, I didn't know I could only use that money in retirement.

When I made this mistake a few years ago, I didn't think about things and made a hasty decision. The average returns in this fund have been 10% over the last five years. I decided to invest all my money in it. I didn't lose my money, but I felt like I lost it, and if I can't access my money whenever I want, that's the same as losing it.

Each of us has similar stories. Humans are subject to failure sometimes; it is a fact that we cannot avoid, so instead of trying to avoid mistakes, it is better to learn how to deal with them.

The stoic philosopher Epictetus described it best when he said, “If a misfortune befalls you, the only thing you control is your attitude towards it. You can either accept them or resent them. "

When we fail, we often complain or blame ourselves or others. Worse, we may give up completely and stop taking risks, but it is much better to change our attitude toward mistakes.

Four lessons that might help you the next time you fail

After making huge mistakes and learning from the mistakes of others, I came up with four lessons that might help you the next time you fail:

1. No matter how bad things get, there's always something worse

In 1999, politician George Bell had the opportunity to buy Google for only $750,000, but he refused, and he must resent every time he sees Google's current valuation.

If you think that's a bad thing, you haven't heard of the Battle of Karánsebes yet. In 1788, the Austrian army engaged in battle with the Ottoman Empire, but things went very wrong when the Austrians shot each other by mistake, wounding and killing 10,000 of their men, and the Ottomans won the battle and captured the city of Karansebec.

It is a tragic story and I think it is impossible to make a greater mistake than that of the Austrian army, so the next time you email the wrong person, I know things aren't as bad as you think they are.

2. Take advantage of your mistakes

The tower of Pisa was not supposed to be leaning, yet thousands of people visit this leaning tower every year. It is today a big tourist landmark and many businesses in the region benefit from it.

Many good results may come from mistakes. Sir Alexander Fleming accidentally invented penicillin, and it saved millions of lives.

For me, when I invested my money in the pension fund, it seemed like a good decision, but when I wanted to start a company a year later, I had almost no money and I thought I had made a big mistake.

But it was an opportunity for me because she forced me to think shrewdly. It was the best thing that happened to me.

One of my friends was fired a while ago because he made a serious mistake, or maybe a lot of mistakes. 

It turned out that he was not focused on his work because he hated his job; he worked in sales, but his passion was always in the cinema business.

Two months after his expulsion, he found a job at a production company and now loves every moment of his work.

Whenever you make a mistake, treat it as an opportunity to do something new.

3. Readiness for change

Sometimes we repeat the same mistakes; we may trust untrustworthy people; we may make wrong investments; and we may misjudge things.

The Roman philosopher and emperor Marcus Aurelius said, "If someone proves me wrong and shows me that I misspoke or did, I am ready to change with pleasure.

I am constantly looking for the truth, which has never hurt anyone. It is hurtful to insist on ignorance and self-deception.”

If you constantly cause harm to yourself or others, it is time to change. If Marcos Aurelius, the most powerful man in the world during his reign, can change, you can, too, and if you err, admit your mistake and do not ignore your mistakes; at least learn from them.

4. Not being afraid of failure

Writer Dale Carnegie says, “Rest; all life is an opportunity. Whoever dares to take a risk will get what they want.” For me, in the end, everything worked out; I didn't stay homeless, I didn't lose my job, and not being able to access my funds was a true blessing.

In Conclusion

The day you stop trying, you may avoid making mistakes, but you will also stop growing and maturing. So go ahead, take the opportunity, and if you make a mistake, it's not the end of the world. All you have to do is find a solution and always remember that no matter how wrong you are, your mistake won't be that bad.