Mistake Autopsy

Far too often today, when a mistake is made, it is followed by a mis-step: People tend to deny, decry or dismiss their original mistake, thereby rendering it useless for personal development and greatly increase the odds they will make the same mistake again.

When a mistake is made, instead of trying to hide it, shift the blame onto someone else or defend it, we ought to perform an autopsy.  Acknowledge the mistake, own it and take control of it's impact on your future by closely examining how it came about, what harm it caused and where you could have altered it's outcome.

Taking personal ownership and a close look at your mistakes  allows you to mitigate the negative outcome by learning a positive lesson for the future, a way to avoid repeating that mistake and perhaps uncovering a better choice.  Wisdom comes from experience and the experiences that we learn most from are our mistakes.

King Solomon, the epitome of wisdom, said, "I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw" (Proverbs 24:32).  As wise as he was, he made it a point to perform autopsies on experiences, allowing for astute observations, which added to his wisdom.

Don't double down on a mistake, trying to deny it or defend it.  Instead, turn it on its head by fully owning up to it and fully exposing it to the light of inquiry so as to learn all that can be gained from it.  Put on your scrubs, grab your scalpel and let the autopsy begin.  Jus' Sayn.