Wednesday, October 3, 2012

the art of accepting your mistakes

Dragonfly Watercolor

One of the biggest qualities in a human being is her or his ability to accept his/her mistakes, to be able to say "sorry." As a perfectionist, making mistakes is something I never take lightly, but owning up to my mistakes is something I have always done. 

When I deal with people who are not capable of accepting or voicing their mistakes, the feeling I was have is that of frustration and sadness. I once read that it was my ability to desobey and make mistakes that makes a person human and the lack of ownership has always struck me as an exit strategy of the coward.


I believe that a person who can never admit error is locked in a cell created by their own denial.


I never find that taking ownership for errors to be diminishing to a person. To the contrary, it shows maturity and the willingness to grow. It has been in each mistake I made, that I learned a lesson. It has been through my biggest mistakes that I have found a better person within myself.

Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them. - Bruce Lee 


36 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hell, I WAS a mistake. I was put up for adoption because of it, hahaha

Irene said...

Well put, Anna! People who own up to their mistakes are definitely brave souls while running away is an act of cowardice.

Thought-provoking and beautiful post, as always! I LOVE the dragonfly painting. ❤ :-)

Anonymous said...

Well, perhaps an accident ;)

ArtSings1946 said...

This is such a thought provoking post. I have a tendency to apologize for everything which is a sign of my co-dependency. I keep an eye out if I'll apologize too much and stop to think for goodness sake. My daughter is a perfectionist like you and it's hard for here to apologize sometimes ... fear takes over. She is so sweet and my heart aches that she suffers so with so much. On the other hand I have a sister who never every apologizes and I've come to realize that she is in denial big time ... so I try to over look this and carry on. Yikes, talk about carrying on.

Love Always,
Jan

PS There are no accidents ... you were meant to be here, BT.

Nadia said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
AntiquityTravelers said...

great post. we all make mistakes, but it is maturity that allows us to admit them and find a way to navigate the future

Debra said...

Ana, I don’t believe we can ever find healing and wholeness apart from acknowledging our brokenness, along with our imperfections and mistakes. Maybe it is an art, acceptance of our flaws, our shadow, and all that makes us human. I’m sure you paint both the good, bad, and ugly at times, don’t you? Like in writing, we don’t just write about the beautiful, we write about warts too, or we wouldn’t be telling the whole truth.

The dragonflies are magical!

Debra said...

Ana, same here. Yes, it does hurt to be isolated, especially as a child in school.

Kathryn Zbrzezny said...

Are Capricorns perfectionists, Ana??!!! I am too. I actually used to apologize way too much for everything, all the time. Now I think and apologize. Life is lighter when we don't carry the heavy burdens of guilt, so I say I'm sorry when I mess up, make right when I can, and work hard to let go...and forgive my Self. I believe it is much easier for me to forgive others, than to forgive myself...but I'm workin' on it... Thanks for your well wishes. I am back to work as of yesterday, but feel pretty horrible without my ibuprofen. I'd kill for a deep tissue massage each day... Hoping I can remain in my classroom, but not sure. Big bummer.

Dianne said...

Well said... Beuatiful dragonfly too...

Jeanie said...

I couldn't agree with you more. I think the strongest part of a person's character is in their ability to admit their wrongs and accept their "rights" with grace.

Cloudia said...

if only more people shared your gravity




Aloha from Honolulu,

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35jupe said...

Bama Trav: Proof that some mistakes are quite fortunate.

I have to rave about the dragon fly. Oh, it's not that often that I get absolutely filled with the desire to OWN something (I'm not a particularly acquisitive person about anything except art supplies and books) but that painting is so glorious ... so lovely and luminescent. The LIGHT you got in the wings! (I do watercolours too, so I know how hard that is!) Gorgeous.

And we all make mistakes. It's that human thing. Hard not to. That's how I can tell I'm still alive: the mistakes keep coming! Ha!

Ola said...

a very good summary !
Blog about life and travelling
Blog about cooking

manomij said...

Say yes to throwing perfect out of the window :) It does me no good, it is beter to make mistakes it keeps me on my toes in a nice kind of way.
Gorgeous painting!
ManonX

Anonymous said...

I love your thoughtful posts. I would be no where without my mistakes...they push me forward. Your dragonfly painting is stunning!

The Dancing Crone said...

Yes courage is what it takes and absolute honesty. If someone is looking for forgiveness there can't be anything left out. True forgiveness can only come with complete honesty. otherwise the little bits not brought into the open, fester and eventually people end up alienated again. In my opinion, :)

Sherri B. said...

Admitting we are wrong is so incredibly hard...but in those moments that we do acknowledge it, we always grow. It's a hard lesson. Is that a painting of a dragonfly?? It almost looks three-dimensional! Amazing! I love it. :)

Plowing Through Life (Martha) said...

You are absolutely right, Ana. To err is human. And to admit our mistakes and even aplogize for them is definitely a sign of maturity and wisdom. I suspect that many people resist owning up to their mistakes because of foolish pride.

:.tossan® said...

Good work makes a difference.
photos are special. It is a pleasure to visit this blog.

Creatively yours Fi said...

And how dreadful to be locked in a cell of our own making :(....I feel sad for people like that. A gorgeous dragonfly Ana. I love the exquisite wings. x

Annette said...

Beautiful dragon fly my dear as the post. Yep we are human and make mistakes. Love your post and I must be the most mature and full of wisdom person as Martha said about admiting them and saying I am sorry. hugs my young friend.

An'Angelia Thompson said...

Excellent post, Ana! It always astounds me that people don't take responsibility for their actions - much less admit mistakes. :(

Kyra Wilson said...

I always love when a person can admit their mistakes, because it means they're OK when you admit your own too (you're less likely to be attacked for them.) You're spot on, in my opinion!

S said...

Love the dragonfly art. It is so beautiful. The fragility and the delicateness of the wings are painted to perfection. I love it.
About admitting ones mistakes, well, even if somebody does not admit one's mistakes, we should be able to forgive them...because as they say " To err is human, to forgive is divine".
This quote is particularly true for the following kinds of people :
a)One, who does not even know that he has committed mistakes...he does not know the right from the wrong.. for him, he has done the right thing...he doesn't care for others.
b) One, who has realized that he has done a mistake and accepts it to himself but is not courageous enough to admit to others..he has ego issues.
Admitting one's wrong/mistakes comes from self awareness and self realization and also from courage...not everybody has reached that stage. So, I feel that if we have reached that stage, we should be able to forgive them.

Anonymous said...

I love this post and it came with great serendipity to my world and a particular person I've been having to deal with lately. I think to admit your mistakes is a powerful, healthy and healing thing - but sadly that doesn't work for everyone. There are some who are so emotionally/mentally ill that they can never, ever accept or admit the truth.
As for my mistakes? I fell off the non-smoker's bandwagon. Arghh - but getting right back on!!
peace

CraveCute said...

You are so right, admitting a mistake, no matter how hard it is to do, always helps you to grow as a person.

geetlee said...

You hit the nail right on the head!
I feel so much lighter after taking responsibility for my errors.
It relieves me of the stress of trying desperately to make myself look good even though I know I am wrong. Phew! That was a mouthful :)
Lovely images as always.
Happy weekend!

Anne said...

So true! I'm an introvert, as well, and used to be a perfectionist...I'm much more accepting of mistakes as I grow older...now I aim for "excellence, not perfection" ~ ♥
Hugs,
Anne

Anne said...

Now following you! ♥

alteredstatesstudio said...

isn't this the truth?....i feel bad for those who can't just own up. none of us are perfect- admit it, learn from it and move forward. i love, love your dragonfly!! the blue is spectacular!

Almost Precious said...

The translucency of the lush, blue dragonfly wings is incredible. Looks so life-like that I first thought it was a photo.

As far as mistakes go, well we all make them, it's a part of being human. To bone up to ones mistakes is often hard to do but a person who refuses to acknowledge their mistakes is usually a person who lacks confidence in themselves and has a great fear of failure. Instead of feeling frustration over these people we should pity them.

chrissy said...

What a lovely blog! I love stumbling onto beauty such as this:) And those are beautiful words on mistakes and the courage and vulnerability that is required for admission.....but oh, the freedom that is found. XO

Shaharoh said...

Cursed with a stubborn bone, I have learned to say sorry even when it doesn't necessarily mean that I've lost but more that I'd rather not lose the person over a disagreement. I think making mistakes is important but admitting to them is even more. I wish so many people in my life would fess up but I'm not going stifle my self-growth by waiting. I think it takes guts to own up to mistakes and you, Introvert, possess an integrity that knows no boundaries.

Lisa Graham said...

I want to be in the category of mature persons who can admit mistakes. I hope I do a good job.

Absolutely beautiful watercolor here!! How in the world to get that blue transparency? Amazing skill in this one.

Zena said...

Totally agree... having the courage to admit our mistakes is not always easy, but is the only way to preserve our peace of mind and positive relationships