Everyone makes mistakes but no matter how much humiliation, pain or sadness they may cause, every misstep helps us learn and grow and ultimately be better people. In fact, some mistakes are even necessary for your future success and you should try to make them while you are still young as it helps you build the skills necessary to deal with change.
"If young persons don't learn that failure is part of growing early on, then they may be less equipped to deal with failure later on in life," Kerr says.
Here are some necessary mistakes everyone should make before turning 30:
Feel entitled, at least once
Assuming you were going to get that promotion or be assigned an important project or made a team leader are all mistakes you should make at least once. Learning from these types of mistakes will remind you not to take things for granted and not to sit back and assume something will be handed to you.
Say what's on your mind
This is the part of growing up and navigating relationships, both personal and professional. Making the mistake of deeply offending someone can serve as a wake up call to be more empathetic around others and help you develop better communication skills.
Burn bridges
Obviously, you don't want to do this frequently, but making the mistake of burning a bridge once or twice can actually be beneficial. It's sometimes more challenging to see the long term consequences of our actions when we are younger and burning bridges can come back to haunt us in substantial ways. Learning to walk away from a difficult situation on a positive note with your head held high is an important lesson throughout your life.
Be passive
It's natural, especially when you are young, to sometimes sit back and want to please everyone in hopes of making sure everyone gets along but being too passive and not learning to ask for what you want can lead to missed opportunities and the earlier you learn that lesson,the better.
P/S: I personally learned this lesson the hard way.
Stick with a terrible job
Even if your boss is horrible and the pay is bad, don't give up and jump the ship. Stick around for a while and try to find a solution even if it seems like a terrible move at the time. The way you handle yourself in this situation will forever shape the way you treat people when you are in charge.
Hit rock bottom
Before the wildly successful "Harry Potter" series came to life. J.K Rowling was a single mom in her 30s on welfare with no job, no money and a child to raise in her own. In a 2008 commencement speech at Harvard University, Rowling discussed how hitting rock bottom forced her to finish the first Harry Potter book. She said "I've often met people who are terrified, you know, in a straitjacket of their own making, because they'd rather do anything than fail. They don't want to try for the fear of failing," she says.
"Hitting rock bottom wasn't fun at all. I'm not romanticizing rock bottom but it was liberating. What did I have to lose?"
I read this article in an edition of "IN THE CITY".
It inspired me and I decided to share it with my readers, I hope it inspires you too.
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Article was originally published in the August 2015 edition of "In the City".
Photo Credit: Chioma Olamide Egbelu.
