The Tall Poppy Guide to Being Wrong

My date, on the other hand, wasn’t always able to see the funny side, and frankly that was a good sign for me whether the relationship was a go-er from my point of view, but I did get rather a dab hand at regaining my composure, and I’m rather pleased and relieved about that. 

 

The message here is this:  It’s not the mistake, it’s the recovery!

 

I deliver regular workshops and talks with the title  ‘What’s Stopping You?’, which are all about facing our fears and moving forward in the direction we want to go, and when I ask people what’s stopping them, the answer is usually the same:  fear.  Fear of coming out of our confort zone, fear of looking silly, fear of making a mistake, fear of getting it wrong.  Can you relate to that?  If so, let me ask you a question.  What did you learn from getting things right the first time?  Very little, I vouch to suggest.  Or at least not as much as you learned from getting something wrong.

 

Being wrong is a GIFT!  

 

It may not feel like it at the time, I know (those gutter experiences haven’t left me entirely unscathed!), but you are in a better position for your second attempt, because once you’ve reflected on where things slid downhill, you can approach with more knowledge next time – the extra knowledge that you didn’t have before will give you a more informed run-up next time.  Ta daaaaa – failure is good!  As MrRafferty says ‘If you get it wrong, you’ll get it right next time’ , and the chances are you will.  Just don’t be afraid to try.

 

The other day, I found a letter from my late (and rather great) Grandma that she had written to offer some encouragement for a dancing competition I was about to enter when I was about 8 years old.  It told me to shoot for the stars and the worst that could happen would be that I hit a tree – that attitude sort of stuck with me for life, and I recommend you use the approach, too.  

 

So with respectful thanks to Gerry Rafferty, here are the lyrics to the last verse of ‘Get it Right Next Time’:

 

“ You gotta grow, you gotta learn by your mistakes

You gotta die a little everyday just to try to stay awake

When you believe there's no mountain you can climb

And if you get it wrong you'll get it right next time, next time.”

 

Couldn’t have put it better myself.  And I’m glad to say I’m spending far less time in gutters these days.  Found a Scotsman who laughed with me, and that was it, I fell in love instead.  Be brave and don’t let the fear of getting something wrong stop you – if you get it wrong, you’ll get it right next time.

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Content provided by Roz McLeod.

Roz McLeod is a top Personal & Professional Development Coach specialising in Motivating Women and Teens.  She also contributes to VitalityLive.co.uk with an uplifting monthly coaching article.  To find out more about Roz’s training & coaching company, Tall Poppy Training & Coaching, visit her website www.tallpoppytrainingandcoaching.com or contact her on 07745 852836.

Roz will be holding FREE talks entitled 'What are you waiting for? Let’s LIVE TODAY!' in the One Life Theatre on Thursday at 2:30pm, Saturday at 5:30pm and Sunday at 11:30am. She will also be holding workshops entitled 'Frenemies: How to identify and manage some of the wolves in sheep’s clothing in your life' on Thursday at 12:30pm and Saturday at 3:30pm.