Stop digging

Have you ever made a mistake? Sure, you have – we have all made mistakes. There are two challenges involved in applying Warren Buffett’s advice. The first is to recognize:

when you are headed down the wrong path - maybe you chose a major which isn’t working for you anymore or the school you originally chose to attend isn’t a good fit,

when you have neglected to do something important - perhaps a due date for an important assignment whooshed by and you didn’t turn that paper in,

when you just didn’t work hard enough - you may have written a paper the night before it was due and done a poor job or

when you made a bad decision - in a moment of desperation maybe you asked a friend to write the paper for you.

This is the part where you admit that you made a mistake – not always an easy thing to do.

The second challenge is to cease the behavior which is causing the problem or as Warren Buffett so eloquently put it: stop digging. Sure, all of your choices in the past haven’t been ideal, but repeating the same questionable choice over and over isn’t going to make it a better choice. It’s just going to make the hole deeper.

Taking responsibility for your choices and making better ones moving forward is one of the great lessons of early adulthood. Your goal should not be to avoid making mistakes; if you aren’t making mistakes, you probably aren’t challenging yourself enough. Rather, your objective should be to recognize and learn from your mistakes, correct your missteps and make better choices moving forward.

If the mistake was a big one or you invested significant time and energy into a goal, it can be hard to admit that you messed up or chose the wrong path and that you would be happier pursuing a different one. No one likes to admit that they were wrong – it makes us feel weak, vulnerable, and embarrassed - but not admitting your mistake just makes the hole deeper.

What if you could see a change of direction not as admitting you were wrong but as a celebration of everything you learned along the way and as a first step toward increased happiness and better success in the future? Maybe that mindset shift would make it easier to stop digging, put down the shovel and climb out of that hole.

It’s OK to admit you were wrong as long as you learn from it and grow as a result.