Making mistakes is part of the journey.

No matter who we are or how smart we think we might be, making mistakes is part of being human. I demonstrated that this week in one of my posts - a simple incorrect numbering mistake. But embarrassing especially since I'm an engineer by training. You would think I could count.

But I messed up. I didn't check my work. I should have been more thorough, more careful.

Part of learning is being corrected

One thing I always try to impress on my students is that being corrected is a huge part of learning. As the 'expert' I am often the one doing the correcting. But sometimes my student speaks up to tell me I'm the one who made a mistake. I welcome this. It keeps me humble. It demonstrates that learning is not a one way street, but a team effort that should keep us all on our toes and forces us to learn and grow and improve. All of us.

Learning only sticks if we take responsibility for our mistakes.

Correction is only the first step to growth. We have to accept the correction, absorb the lesson and actually change. Today I got my car fixed, but when I went to pick it up the clerk gave me the wrong bill. I did not catch the mistake until I left. Returning I pointed out the mistake, paid the correct bill and then paused. I waited for the apology, the acknowledgment of a misuse of time and what could have been a catastrophic error. I waited, and she responded, "Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

Let's look forward to being corrected so that we can learn from our mistakes, and take these lessons to heart!

PS - Thank you Becky for helping me be better and for lovingly correcting me!