How to Bounce Back From Mistakes

A few years back I had a phone appointment to be interviewed by Matt, a reporter for the New York Times. We scheduled the appointment for the lunch hour because I was going to be presenting a seminar that day, and it was the only time I had to talk. That wasn’t ideal, but I knew everything would go just fine. However, when the day and time for the interview came, I was out to lunch—literally and figuratively.

I didn’t remember the appointment until 12:30, thirty minutes late. I grabbed my cell phone and called Matt to apologize. I thought calling so late would mean the interview wouldn’t take place. However, Matt was very gracious and asked if I could still do the interview.

Matt gave me the opportunity to learn that success, happiness and fulfillment in life comes, not from being perfect, but from our response to our mistakes or failures. Sometimes we drop what we’re carrying and it breaks up into tiny pieces. At that point success is about being gracious, not only to others, but to ourselves. The next time you blow it in some way, remember these four things:

Own up to your mistake
Make amends as quickly as possible
Learn from it and move on 
Forgive yourself even if the other person doesn’t

One more thing: If you’re not so good with the four points above, don’t worry—you’ll get plenty of practice in the future.

- Alan Allard, Executive Coach