ALSphere Foundation
Life can be a comedy of errors if we choose to laugh at our blunders and learn from them. We all know that to err is human, yet we are fearful of making mistakes and not ready to take them in our stride. Some of us are so apprehensive that we sometimes do not try hard enough or start fixing things that are not broken.
Right from the time when we are small, our doting parents don the mantle of eternal protectors against any problems that may come our way. Mothers are often anxious about their child falling even if it is a small harmless one. Fathers provide a strong shelter where no one in the family has to try too hard to get something. When we enter school, the fear of being labeled good, bad or average plays on our mind because unfortunately, the world is very quick to put a tag on our errors. As we grow older, the peer pressure and the learning process become very daunting as we are embarrassed of our slip-ups and lapses. We are forever preventing ourselves from a fall instead of learning how to handle them with the right attitude.
If only we could see the beautiful side of a folly, where one becomes stronger and wiser, it would mitigate so many worries in our life. If all of us were faultless, then how would we know the greater joy of rising and proving one’s worth after a failure, or experiencing the relief of apologizing and making-up, or feeling the bust of positivity on forgiving someone. Life would be a lot less complicated if we learnt to forgive, forget and understand the erroneous acts of one another.
Our teachers in school would often emphasize the fact that it was important to make mistakes in life, to become a better version of ourselves. In order to keep trying till we succeed, we needed to take many-a-fall. There was a girl in our class and she was always getting into trouble for one fault or the other. In order to save herself, she would come up with witty one liners that would have everyone smiling. Once there was a surprise test and she submitted a blank sheet. On being questioned, she said, “My slate is clean because I have yet to make my mistakes.” That girl who was short on academic score, went on to become a very successful writer.
In our pursuit of perfection and righteousness, we treat our mistakes with guilt, shame and reprimand. High time we changed the perspective on failure, and laid more emphasis on how to overcome it with our head held high. What we are sorely missing in all the humdrum of life is that mistakes maketh a man perfect. For all those who lost heart and got disenchanted with life when they failed, it is important for them to remember that a fall must be taken as a natural corollary of life. Being on the lower rung of the ladder actually provides an insight into our weaknesses and strengths. Failure teaches us what we know, and also what we do not, which is equally important for our growth and progress.
Denzil Washington, the popular American actor, once advised a group of listeners to ‘fall forward’ each time they slipped on life’s undulating turf. He inspired all to convert every single mistake as a stepping stone towards attaining more knowledge.
The corporate world also realised the importance of correcting the mistakes rather than the person. In their training programme for executives, a popular topic was, on how they could make a difference in the way they treated their employees, especially after the employee had made a mistake.
When we assuage the fear of failure, we realise that all the bloopers, controversies and amusing moments that arise from our mistakes are well worth the journey we tread. In all earnestness, we need to weather the storm in order to lead a wholesome life. It is better to have tried and failed than not to have tried at all. For ships are safe in the harbor but that’s not what ships are made for.
Alka Kashyap
