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How Christians can Learn to Live With Mistakes
Why we should stop beating ourselves up when we make mistakes and just learn from them.
A few years ago, I was plugging away at my receptionist job when I got a call from one of my managers. Could I book a meeting room for the next day? “Sure,” I said confidently. I entered in the information on the computer, but I felt prompted to check on myself later on for some reason. I had made a mistake.
The room I reserved had already been booked by someone else. I had filled in the wrong date. Frantically, I sent the manager an E-mail and left a voice message. I had a nervous knot in my stomach when she did not respond that morning. I had images of her and her guests showing up at a boardroom already full of people the next day.
I was mortified. Eventually, I did get a hold of the manager. She shrugged off my error and was OK with booking another room.
I have a hard time dealing with mistakes like this. I start to hear the negative voices from my past telling me that I am stupid — the mocking laughter of school bullies and the cold voice of my parents asking, “Can’t you do anything right?” Because of emotional wounds of the past, mistakes seem to confirm my old self-image as a girl who deserved criticism, put-downs, and punishment.
