Mistakes Are Not Failure

We all make mistakes, every day something will happen that we wish hadn’t. Reflecting back on that mistake and learning from it doesn’t have to be a scenario where we beat ourselves up for failing. Mistakes aren’t failure. We want children to grow up to be resilient but how many of us utilise our own mistakes as learning opportunities for our children? There have been many times where I have reacted to one of my children only to reflect back and think, “That was because I was tired” or, “I was wound up after work” and realised it wasn’t actually their fault; I was in the wrong, I’d made a mistake. Realising that doesn’t make me a failure, it makes me human. What I then choose to do about it can play a part in building my children’s foundations, their development, their resilience. I can go in and ask to talk and apologise or I can dig my heels in because I don’t want them to ‘question my authority’. The bottom line is if I was wrong I will say so, apologise and move on because I want my children to be able to do the same. And it’s not just mistakes in parenting that can be utilised. We can use every aspect of our lives to model that mistakes happen, but we can learn and bounce back from them. You don’t want your child or pupil to feel awful forever for a mistake made, you want them to accept it, deal with it then let it go; give yourself the same courtesy. Be what you want your children to be in front of them. Whether you’re a parent or a teacher, It starts with you.