Falling down and making mistakes is what helps us to grow
I remember, as a young man, my father used to offer me advice and direction. As great as his intentions were, I never realised that he was speaking from a standpoint of experience and wisdom and that he only wanted to help me avoid, making the same mistakes that he had made. On many occasions, I ignored my father’s advice and encountered numerous challenges and obstacles, which I could have avoided, had I had the foresight to realise that my father’s experience gave him an advantage and a far greater opportunity to be correct.
I have now become my father, I see the silly mistakes my son is making and as hard as I try, he chooses to ignore my advice. Is this because we must bang our own heads, to learn the lessons that life has to offer? We can tell our children a thousand times not to touch a hot stove, in reality the only way they are going to learn a meaningful life lesson, is to actually touch the stove and burn their hand.
I have now resigned myself to be a guide and someone that is always there to pick up the pieces every time my son bumps his head. Each generation must experience things in their own way and learn their own lessons, for it is the lessons and challenges we face in life that shape our character and create our pool of experience. No matter how well you try to explain something to someone, or how many times you warn them not to do something. Most people don’t learn the life lesson they need, until they are knocked flat onto their back.
This is most certainly not the smartest approach to life, but as time passes I am beginning to realise that this is a very necessary part of growing and becoming more. People are supposed to fall, to encounter challenges and to learn the lessons these bring. These challenges, obstacles and road blocks are very often the catalyst that unlocks hidden potential, uncovers opportunity or makes us think about the choices we are making.
No wisdom, no matter how insipidly simple or obvious, will be any value, until you have actually experienced the poignancy of each piece of advice personally or until you have experienced the pain or pleasure associated with the learning the advice brings. Wisdom is great as a general guide, but until you have lived and experienced things yourself, there will be little or no real learning.
After reading this article I hope that you will start to see the value of all the wisdom, your mentors, parents and coaches are offering you. It is far easier to listen and learn the lessons they offer and avoid the pain associated with repeating the mistakes they have made. Blindly following someone else’s advice is also not going to give you the benefit of personally experiencing things in your own unique way, learning different lessons, growing and becoming the best possible version of yourself. I leave you with this little bit of wisdom, listen to all the feedback you receive, learn what you can, but always have the courage to take some risks and ensure that you have the support to make your own mistakes.
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