Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 4:35 pm
I felt compelled to show you guys this as it has made a big impact on myself. This is from the book called Feeling Good by David, D, Burns. There is more to the section but i kept the main ideas.
All human beings make mistakes. Do you agree? Ok now tell me: What are you? Ok, Now what follows? Of course-you will and should make mistakes! Tell yourself this everytime you persecute yourself because you made an error. Just say, "I was supposed to make that mistake because i'm human!"
In addition ask yourself; "What can I learn from my mistake? Is there some good that could come from this?
As an experiment, think about some error you've made & write down everything you learned from it.
Some of the best things can be learned only through making mistakes & learning from them. After all, this is how you learned to talk & walk & do just about everything. Would you be willing to give up that kind of growth? You may even go so far as to say that your imperfections & goof-ups are some of your greatest assets. Cherish them! Never give up your capacity for being wrong cuz then you lose the ability to move forward.
In fact, just think what it would be like if you were perfect. There'd be nothing to learn, no way to improve and life would be completely void of challenge that comes from mastering something that takes effort. It would be like going to kindergarden for the rest of your life. You'd know all the answers & win every game. Every project would be a guaranteed success because you would do everything correctly. People's conversations would offer you nothing because you'd already know it all. And most important, nobody could love or relate to you. It would be impossible to feel any love for someone who was flawless & knew it all. Doesn't that sound lonely, boring & miserable? Are you sure you still want perfection?
I hope this has as much of an impact on you as it has me!!!!
Mike
All human beings make mistakes. Do you agree? Ok now tell me: What are you? Ok, Now what follows? Of course-you will and should make mistakes! Tell yourself this everytime you persecute yourself because you made an error. Just say, "I was supposed to make that mistake because i'm human!"
In addition ask yourself; "What can I learn from my mistake? Is there some good that could come from this?
As an experiment, think about some error you've made & write down everything you learned from it.
Some of the best things can be learned only through making mistakes & learning from them. After all, this is how you learned to talk & walk & do just about everything. Would you be willing to give up that kind of growth? You may even go so far as to say that your imperfections & goof-ups are some of your greatest assets. Cherish them! Never give up your capacity for being wrong cuz then you lose the ability to move forward.
In fact, just think what it would be like if you were perfect. There'd be nothing to learn, no way to improve and life would be completely void of challenge that comes from mastering something that takes effort. It would be like going to kindergarden for the rest of your life. You'd know all the answers & win every game. Every project would be a guaranteed success because you would do everything correctly. People's conversations would offer you nothing because you'd already know it all. And most important, nobody could love or relate to you. It would be impossible to feel any love for someone who was flawless & knew it all. Doesn't that sound lonely, boring & miserable? Are you sure you still want perfection?
I hope this has as much of an impact on you as it has me!!!!
Mike