20th September 2021

You never usually get something right the first time that you do it…
Many people feel that you need to get something right the first time that you do it, don’t they? Actually, I may be touching on a bit of a raw nerve here for some people without them realising it, as I have noticed over the years that often people like this (who usually call themselves ‘perfectionists’) think that what I am saying applies to somebody else and not to them!
These types of people also often have unrealistic expectations of what they can achieve the first time that they try something, so they do not realise for themselves (although they are very good in pointing it out to others) that learning to get better at anything requires you to initially make mistakes, but to then keep trying again until you succeed.
The irony is that, inwardly, we do understand this basic principle and, outwardly, always tell it to others, especially children, but then too often we seem to forget it ourselves and then are surprisingly disappointed if things do not go to plan the first time that we try to do something.
I think that, unfortunately, people often carry around the voice of somebody else in their head, such as a parent or teacher when they were growing up, or someone else at a different time, who said that they had to get something right the first time that they did it, and they then listen to that voice more than the one in their own mind telling them that it is alright to not get something right the first time that you do it.
Funnily enough, it is actually often quite good to make mistakes, because that is how we then learn (as long as they are not mistakes that we could or should have avoided if we had applied ourselves properly, or if we keep on making the same mistakes and never learn from them!)
Let me end my thought this week by just saying that you should please reflect on what I am saying here and, if it resonates with you, ask yourself why that is?




