Mistakes are a part of life. Successful people acknowledge theirs, learn from them, and work to correct them. A study of 105 executives identified common characteristics shared by successful people, but one observation was particularly helpful. Successful people admit their mistakes and accept the consequences instead of blaming others. None of us enjoy reaping the consequences of our actions. When things go wrong, we have a natural tendency to look for someone to blame. It’s in our DNA. In the garden of Eden when God asked Adam what he had done, Adam blamed Eve. And when God questioned Eve, she blamed the devil. The next time you mess up, think about who is really at fault and try to look at it objectively so you can learn from it and do better next time. Somebody said the sooner you fail, the more time you have to improve. Ask yourself, ‘What have I learned? How can I turn this failure into success? Where did I succeed besides fail?’ People who accuse others for their failures never surmount them; they just move from problem to problem. To reach your highest potential, you must persistently improve yourself, and you can’t do that if you don’t take responsibility and learn from your errors. In life you will always have problems. The question is: will you stay down and wallow in defeat, or get back up on your feet and make the best of things by determining to fight another day? Henry Ford said, ‘Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.’ So, live by the Bible principle, ‘A just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again’ (Proverbs 24:16 KJV).
