If I make a mistake, does that mean I’ve failed?

Not at all. Making a mistake does not undo everything you’ve already achieved, and it doesn’t mean you are a failure either! 

We’ve all heard the saying “every day is a school day”. Mistakes are only a problem if we fail to learn from them. Every day is an opportunity to learn. If we keep telling ourselves we’ve failed, we might believe it. But if we change our way of thinking to “I made a mistake today, but I’ve learnt from it,” we can start to believe in ourselves again. 

Sometimes, being afraid of making mistakes or failing can stop us from trying new things. But if we see mistakes as part of trying and use them as lessons, we can grow stronger and feel better about ourselves. 

Everyone does their best, and we all learn at different speeds. Sometimes worried thoughts can hold us back, but being brave and giving something a go can be really empowering. I know it’s easy to say, “don’t worry,” but it’s also okay to say, “I’m worried, but I’ll try anyway.” If things don’t go perfectly, that’s okay too. We can think about what went wrong, learn from it, and try again another day. Nobody is perfect, so there is no need to be hard on ourselves when things go wrong. Be kind to yourself, just like you would be to a friend who tried but didn’t succeed. 

Everything we do, potentially, helps us grow. If we let mistakes make us feel like we are failures, we might stop trying altogether. But that would keep us stuck as we are. 

So, let’s all give it a go! Try something new, change a bad habit, or attempt something you really want to do but feel nervous about. As long as you keep yourself safe, it’s okay to make mistakes—that’s how we learn and grow.