You,Made,Mistake,amp,#63,Way,Y DIY You Made A Mistake? Way To Go!

When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in

You Made A Mistake? Way To Go!Mistakes have gotten a really bad rap. Whether you call itan error, a blunder, a screw-up, a faux pas, a gaffe or aboo-boo, no one wants to be guilty of committing one.The fear of not performing "up to snuff" leads many peopleto procrastinate or even worse, never to act at all. Formany, this has become a major debilitating problem.Besides the obvious lack of productivity and the numerousaborted projects, this pathological postponement of dutiesleads to:-a guilty conscience-inability to enjoy our free time-harsh internal criticism-severe mental conflict-rationalization (that even we ourselves don't believe)-lowered self-esteemOur list is hardly complete but it's already hideous enough.SO WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL ALREADY?Why does making a mistake seem like such a life and deathsituation for so many of us?I believe it has to do with the fact that for many of us,doing things right, learning quickly, being a smart kid, waslikely one of the major sources of appreciation or approvalwe ever got. It may have been the ONLY time we got noticed.In fact, for those of us who were quick studies, the fewtimes that we were not able to catch on with lightning speedcaused us great discomfort, as if we were about to be robbedof our only source of approval, our one and only avenue ofacceptance.As children, although we may have been praised when we didsomething right, we were probably ignored, admonished oreven ridiculed when we weren't able to perform so flawlessly.As young children, this type of reaction provided us amirror or reflection of who we were based solely on ourperformance. It defined our value.As adults, although we might realize intellectually thatmaking a mistake is not a big deal, that it is a simply partof a learning process, we still have a tendency to respondfrom a deep emotional level that is no longer relevant.WOULD EVERYONE WHO IS NOT HERE PLEASE LEAVE?We need to tell these invisible critics to shut up, pleaseleave the room, take a flying leap, or whatever else occursto us at the moment. We've allowed them to hang around forfar too long.Personally, I prefer the more courteous approach, but sinceno one is REALLY around to get their feelings hurt, you maywish to just tell these ghosts to get the hell out!The crucial point is that you make your intention to banishthese disembodied voices crystal clear to yourself. Inactuality, you're the only one you have to reckon with here.ALLOW ME TO ILLUSTRATE...Several years ago, I bought myself a piano. This was a glorious treat for me. I was living in my own place, nofamily, no roomies, no boyfriends, nobody but me and mybeloved piano. (And a couple of pussy cats but they didn'tcare how I played as long as I kept the food coming!)Now I could play to my heart's content without any unwantedlisteners lurking about. However, every time I sat down atthe keyboard, the room "filled up" with this invisibleaudience, ghostly faces ready to wince at any sour note orfumbled chord.I was playing for my ego, trying to win the approval ofthese phantom ears floating about my music room. And ofcourse, the true music got lost in the deal.Is this anything like what happens to you when you trysomething new? Are there invisible critics watching overyour shoulder, interfering with your concentration?It doesn't seem to matter what type of new activity we wishto undertake. It could be something as simple as learning anew software program or something as ambitious as tackling abold new approach to earning a fabulous living. Is itpossible that the actual goal has gotten lost in the meleeof ego and the fear of not getting it right the first time?Does the idea of not having a completed blueprint of yourjourney prevent you from taking the first step? BRAVO FOR BLUNDERSHere's a technique, seemingly simple and silly, but veryeffective just the same in combatting this tendency tostay stuck in our well-worn rut.When you become aware of any mistake or misstep you havemade, respond to it in this radically different way. PRAISE yourself for discovering something that did not work.That's right, be glad! Acknowledge that you are now one step closer to finding the solution you are after. Yessss!Now for the really important part. Be certain to acknowledgeto yourself, preferably out loud, that by making the mistakeat hand you did NOT suddenly become stupid, puny or otherwisediminished. Make note of the fact that you are every bit assolid a person as you were before the mistake, and that youare now a tad wiser besides. That's it. But do it.The only way you'll ever learn to feel differently aboutyourself is to start feeling differently about yourself. Youand only you control what you think. Think well of yourself.