The list goes on and on. I have to clean this and that additionally. I have to protect my social network profiles. I have to reduce the spam in my e-mail accounts. I cannot include in a blog-post or, God forbid, in a book something, which would have a bad effect on the reader. I must be very precise in recycling the garbage. I remember parts of conversations with people and I go over and over them after the meeting to make sure I could not have done any damage by my words. The list goes on and on. What I am most afraid of is making a mistake. But mistakes are a part of life. That is how we learn. Yet,...

While some degree of the fear of mistakes is useful and healthy, too much of it can prevent our actions. We might never change things for the better. Or we might never meet new friends for instance. It is true that we can avoid pain by not taking any action and thus omitting mistakes. Yet, the moment we see pain as experience, it might decrease the ‘wrongness’ of a mistake. Of course causing a car accident for instance will always feel wrong. But what about changing a job for example? You earn less at the new job and the change might feel as a mistake. Is it really? Is money everything?...

I have been wondering lately, why it is so hard to admit a mistake. Yes, of course, we have to face the consequences, like losing a friend or a job. By denying a mistake we hope to avoid it. And even if it is a tiny mistake without any serious ramifications, it is painful to admit we did something wrong. The feeling of guilt burns in our chest while taking on the responsibility. We all know all that, but let’s dig deeper. At the root of reoccurring mistakes is a conviction. For example, when we keep picking friends, who treat us badly, the underlying conviction might be: “I don’t deserve noble...