Handling Mistakes

Are you afraid to make a mistake? Some people feel as if no one is ever paying attention until they make a mistake! If you goofed in a big way recently, maybe you need to hear about Roy Riegels.

The story is told about Roy and the 1929 Rose Bowl championship football game between Georgia Tech and the University of California. Shortly before halftime, a man named Roy Riegels made a huge mistake. He got the ball for California and somehow became confused and started running in the wrong direction! One of his team-mates outdistanced him and tackled him after he had run 65 yards, just before he would have scored for the opposing team. Of course, Georgia Tech gained a distinct advantage through the error.

The men filed off the field and went into the dressing room. All but Riegels sat down on the benches and on the floor. He wrapped his blanket around his shoulders, sat in a corner, put his face in his hands and wept.

Coach Nibbs Price struggled with what to do with Roy. He finally looked at the team and said simply, "Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second."

All the players except Roy trotted out to the field. He didn't budge. Though the coach looked back and called to him again, he remained huddled in the corner. Coach Price went to him and said, "Roy, didn't you hear me?"

"Coach," he said, "I can't do it. I've ruined you; I've ruined the school; I've ruined myself. I couldn't face that crowd in the stadium to save my life."

But Coach Price put his hand on Riegels' shoulder and said, "Roy, get up and go on back; the game is only half over." Roy Riegels went back and those Tech men will tell you that they have never seen a man play football as well as Roy Riegels played that second half.

The next time you make a mistake, it might be good to remember the ABC method of handling mistakes.

A - Acknowledge your error and accept responsibility for it. Don't try to fix the blame on other people or circumstances. When you fix the blame, you never fix the problem.

B - Be gentle with yourself. The game is only half over. This is not the first mistake you ever made, nor will it be the last. You are still a good and caring person. Besides, later you may laugh at the blunder, so try to lighten up a bit now.

C - Correct it and move on. Correcting mistakes may also mean to make amends, if necessary. "Those who are wise don't consider it a blessing to make no mistakes," says Wang Yang-Ming. "They believe instead that the great virtue is the ability to correct mistakes and to continually reinvent oneself."

Now, go make your mistakes. And though some may be no less than spectacular, if you practice the ABC method, you'll live to laugh about many of them.

Remember ...

Don't be afraid to make mistakes because it is by Making mistakes that we learn!

Perfectionists can have great difficulty in accepting this principle, but you simply have to allow yourself the space to make mistakes; or you will cripple your ability to perform. That message is the essence of the book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway; and it is absolutely correct!

I think it was Albert Einstein who said something like ...

"Show me a person who has never made a mistake and I will show you a person who has never tried!"

Remember to use Steve's A,B,C method next time you fail. Then pick yourself up again and get ready to go!

Will Edwards

The White Dove Partnership