Things You Can Do When You Commit Mistakes

 "A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them. -- John C. Maxwell"     

"Mistake" is an unintentional error or misunderstanding. Its not fun to commit a boo-boo or flub, but its part of being a human. We all commit mistakes. No one in this world is perfect. When one is cornered from a mistake, it could be intentional, unintentional or an honest mistake, its hard to recover from that situation. A person who committed such mistake should be ready and prepare for what is about to come. So despite from our being careful, we should prepare from the backlash from those people who suffered from that mistake. So, What can you do when you put your foot in your mouth?

► OWN IT

     This will stop the mistake from worsening. Instead of dancing with your mistake, own it. Apologized if it needs to. Accept the fact that a mistake has been committed. Apologized if something came out that is unintentional cruel.Just like what happened to the recently concluded Australia's Next Top Model, when the host Sarah Morduch mistakenly announces the winner. She got up and acknowledge that its an "honest mistake". Another incident is when the US Government made an embarrassing flag mistake with the Philippine flag as it was inadvertently displayed upside down. 

►IDENTIFY THE ROOT CAUSE

     Check and find where it all started. Was it at your end? Figure what is exactly led to the situation. Go back to the time it happened. Identify every detail and information that will help your investigation.

► BE RESPONSIBLE

     After you identify what led to that mistake, be responsible enough to take some action in a form of email or a note. If you already identified the causes , commit to have it fix and have it done as soon as possible. Be responsible in taking every action that you have.

► ASK, SEEK AND TALK

     If the mistake has blown out of proportion or causes a major trouble, then talk to the right people. Ask what needs to be done. Seek some information and understand what to do to lessen and stop it from getting worst. If you will be given something like a warning or whatever, accept it and then moved on.


►DON'T DWELL

     If you already said sorry or apologized about what happened, then don't dwell on it. Let it fade away. If people will joke around about what happened be a good sport. Its part or moving on and growing up from what happened. Learn from it and stop mourning about what happened.

► DON'T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF

     Laugh around. Have fun and enjoy. Life is so good to dwell on that mistake. Consider it as a stepping stone on your career. Think of it as a life learned lesson. Don't commit the same mistake again. Stand up and get back on your feet.

► LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKE

    

     If there is really no chance to rekindle the relationship between you and the people that is inflected by that mistake, then come up with a strategy to do better in the future. Learn from it. Everything that happened has its own reason. The mistake that was committed might help you become a better person. It will mold you to do better in the coming days of your live. Instead of saying "opppssss!" for the mistake you did, just say "ah! interesting! and then learn.