I don't know if to say mistakes are some of the attributes of being a human. That's a part of the things that make us human, because honestly, mistakes seem to be recurring in our lives as humans. I was playing a game this afternoon and I made one serious mistake which I noticed only after making it. I tried to be careful as it was a game that required so, but I still made the mistake.
Maybe sometimes we can't be too careful to avoid mistakes. Of course, we need to prepare, we need to make diligent efforts towards a good result or outcome. However, I see that mistakes come around, sometimes. Think about that test or exam you prepared for very well, or that presentation or practical, but then, one mistake affected everything, or almost everything.
Mistakes can be said to be avoidable, yet inevitable. I look at the game of football, or sports in a wider sense. I realise that beyond the training, tactics and strategies of players or teams－which is nonetheless necessary－what brings victory is the mistake(s) of one team, through which the other capitalises upon.
Now, on a personal level and in connection with life, we make mistakes. Sometimes for reasons beyond us and other times for reasons we could have avoided or played around. Some reasons could be beyond us, like forgetting, being overwhelmed, stressed and so on. I remember a time back in school while I was trying to copy notes but struggled with sleep. Eventually, I fell asleep, woke up later, and couldn't really tell some things I wrote. Several mistakes because I was tired and sleepy.
Last week, I was supposed to go somewhere, a very important place. I made plans towards that, and around the evening hours, I should be there. But I failed to, or I couldn't. The schedule was on my mind, but as the hour approached, I got involved with some things I was supposed to have done earlier but couldn't for some reason I can barely remember now.
While I would have still made it there, I couldn't because I got exhausted and fell asleep. I can't say I really forgot, just that what came up got me caught up in it and I thought I could still get done and go. Along the line, somehow, I took a nap only to wake up and see that it was late. I thought about still going, but it would be late so I had to inform them and apologise.
How did I feel? Bad of course. It wasn't a case of standing up people but I still felt this mistake shouldn't have happened. I felt I should have maybe still gone and my reactions left me confused about whether to go or not. But this didn't end without a lesson. I learnt to prioritise better, plan better and execute better. Also, I should learn to manage my rest to avoid such situations.
If such a situation should present itself, I'll do well to do better. It wasn't the first time. I've managed such a situation before and other times it got out of hand or was mismanaged. But with this happening, I see more reasons to do better. This didn't make me feel good about myself. I had to do the apologising added to missing out on being present. All of that left me with a necessary lesson. Hope I don't make such a mistake again.
Images are mine.