Page Title

Failure

February 25, 2002

"Everybody fails, errs, and makes mistakes.  You've heard the saying 'To err is human, to forgive divine.'  Alexander Pope wrote that more than 250 years ago.  And he was only paraphrasing a saying that was common 2,000 years ago, during the time of the Romans.  Things today are the same as they were then: If you're a human being, you're going to make mistakes.

You're probably familiar with Murphy's Law and the Peter Principle.  Recently I came across something called Rules for Being Human.  I think the list describes well the state we're in as people:

1. You will learn lessons.
2. There are no mistakes -only lessons.
3. A lesson is repeated until it is learned.
4. If you don't learn the easy lessons, they get harder.  (Pain is one way the universe gets your attention.)
5. You'll know you've learned a lesson when your actions change.

Know that you are going to make mistakes (Maxwell, 2000, pp. 13-14)."

Reference:  Maxwell, J.C. (2000).  Failing forward: turning mistakes into stepping-stones for success.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Remember there are no mistakes - only lessons

Failing Forward is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center.  A complete listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/

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Created: 2008-12-13, Updated: 2009-01-07