What to Do When You Make a Mistake

By Rabbi Simon Jacobson

With any mistake, personal or professional, there are two things that you can do to turn it into a productive moment. The phrase “fail better” has become a meme, which is, culturally, a step in the right direction. However, the Kabbalists had already detailed how one should fail better, by understanding that the inner “soul” of a mistake is a seed and opportunity for greater growth, and there are two methods that they passed down to us how to bring this seed to fruition. These two methods will revolutionize the way that you handle making mistakes.

The First Method:
Unleash the Possibilities

Living a successful life requires both taking risks and playing by the rules. Following the rules keeps us in line with our missions, but risk is necessary to move forward. The outcome of risk is possibilities — possibilities that are more powerful than the outcome of strictly staying on track. When you make a mistake, allow that to unleash new possibilities. Build resources from your mistake. Take the elements of destabilization that the mistake introduced and use them for the greatest profit. Instead of trying to sweep all the fallout of your mistake under the rug, take each piece of it and turn it into a catalyst for growth; do something productive with it.

The Second Method:
Elevate the Mistake

In addition to growing from the mistake, transform the very mistake into an asset by learning from it. When you’ve departed from what’s “right”, take yourself to a higher level, whether it is higher level professionally or in personal relationships. If you had followed the rules and not made a mistake, you wouldn’t have the opportunity to discover new insights and experiences that only your mistake could have taught you. You’ve opened an opportunity for yourself to exceed expectations, now that you’ve transgressed them. Take your passion for good and lift up your mistake to a solution or possibility that is far greater than the rules you broke. ■