6 ways to start owning your mistakes

You’ve heard “stop making excuses” and there’s a reason for that: It’s excellent advice! Avoiding excuses means taking responsibility for our actions and accepting the consequences of our missteps. Here’s what that looks like:

Recognizing your mistake. That’s essential in order to end excuses. If you can identify your own areas for improvement, you’re well on your way to growth. Acknowledging that something went wrong is the first step toward working out the cause.

Acknowledge your responsibility. Admitting your role in a mistake is key – and it’s especially important in relationships. No one wants to be  “the one who lied” or “the one who messed up,” but taking ownership of a misstep challenges you to show real strength of character. And that’s something others are likely to respect far more than, say, trying to hide or lie about a mistake. 

Apologize if you need to. If your mistake has affected someone else and you need to apologize, do it quickly and briefly: “I made a mistake and I’m working on correcting it and avoiding repeating it.” That should do it. No excuses or justifications. Lengthy verbal floggings are probably more for yourself and should be avoided – especially at work. In all likelihood, your colleagues are occupied with their own goals and challenges, and your misstep isn’t their focus.

Learn what you can. The most successful people tend to see mistakes as learning opportunities. Considered thoughtfully and honestly, mistakes can give you a better understanding of yourself. 

Make a plan for the future. What do you need to do differently so the mistake doesn’t happen again? Were you multi-tasking in the extreme? Were you sleep-deprived? Were you getting sloppy or did you make an assumption where you shouldn’t have? Maybe you need to include others to revise a workflow or change an approach, but whatever it is, you’ll be better because of it.

Look after yourself. Sure you made a mistake, but you’re human. Rather than beating yourself up, look at what you can do to set yourself up for good decisions going forward. Getting enough sleep, decent nutrition and adequate mental breaks will all make it less likely you’ll use poor judgment – plus you’ll feel better!

So next time you encounter a mistake or an obstacle in life, don't make an excuse. Take ownership for it instead – a huge benefit in the long run!