Did you ever make a big mistake? I just finished an excellent 2010 bio of George Washington. I have also read bios of Hunter Thompson, John Nash (A Beautiful Mind), Einstein, Newton, etc. One thing that I have noticed is that great individuals sometimes make great mistakes. The most productive individuals treat important errors as learning opportunities. One error I have made is not advising a client against suddenly discontinuing a psychiatric drug. After seeing the consequences of that mistake, sometimes including an outpatient client being hospitalized, I now know better. Who else has learned something important about dealing with others from a big mistake?
John Malouff
Associate Professor of Psychology
Hello Prof Malouff, I love the way you write about psychological issues; your Blog is excellent. With regard to making mistakes, or any other major (or minor) issues in life, I’ve found that keeping a daily journal is very helpful in coping with life and learning from my mistakes and from my successes. I’ve had this habit of journalling for about 25 years or more, and it’s an excellent tool for keeping me happy, organised and on track. I write to myself about all sorts of issues, both massive and trivial, and I also use it as a planning tool, with a “TO DO” list every day. I lead a busy life, I’m single, and like everyone else I’ve had my share of disappointments; I’m a personal assistant to a professor of cardiology, I do medical report typing, I’m doing a BA online through UNE and I’m also a professional watercolour artist. Needless to say, I’ve made my fair share of mistakes in life, and when I do, I write about it in my journal until the pain goes, learn from it and then try and move away from it and on to better things in life. Do you have anything to say about journalling?
Hi there. You are not alone in benefiting from journaling. There is a great deal of evidence that expressive writing (writing about one’s important experiences and emotions) helps individuals cope with stressors. James Pennebaker has studied expressive writing extensively; some of my students (and some of Nicola Schutte’s students) have completed fourth-year studies on the efficacy of expressive writing and ended up publishing the results in psychology journals.
Wow, that’s great! I have always recommended it to my art students as a vehicle for increasing their creativity. I suspect that it fees the minds of worry so that they can be more creative. If you have any citations for me regarding those articles, Prof, I would be grateful.
Here are 3 things you can do: (1) Search for James Pennebaker on Google, go to his web site and look at his publications; (2) search for books by him or on expressive writing at the uni library or on amazon.com; (3) search PsychINFO for articles by him or articles on expressive writing.
A mistake I made, was misinterpreting someone, but at the same time, that person knew I didn’t understand, and gave mixed messages. To cut a long story short, many people got hurt, and disillussioned. Anyways, writing journals did help, and now I avoid all stressors completely. One thing that was noteable, was the people looking towards horoscopes, etc for life direction…totally out of character….what do you make of this?
Hi there. The unknown is scary — evolution may have led humans to try to reduce uncertainty about the future. One way to do that is to follow horoscopes — religion also can serve that purpose. Humans often work very hard to create the future they want. Look at the revolutions going on in one country or another; at a more common level, look at individuals pursuing an education.
Thanks so much for the information on James Pennebaker, Prof. I will follow through.
Hi John, I regularly read your blogs and find them quite interesting even though I have never left any comments. I found this one about mistakes interesting. I read alot of biographies and I have also learnt that many intelligent and intuitive people make mistakes but the difference is that they learn from it and try not to make it again. I know that I have made mistakes and sometimes the same one more than once and I know that sometimes the second time round is what I needed to know that I will not make it again. I also write in a journal and find that it also helps to sort out the problems and all the emotions attached to it and when I read it over I gain some knowledge about it and it helps to move through it. I also paint and draw which helps me relax and allows me some free expression in art form.
Anyway thanks again for the blogs. I always look forward to it.
Thanks for the positive (reinforcing) comments. They help motivate me to keep writing about using psychology in everyday life.
I make mistakes all the time – that is what makes life interesting, right? A life without conflict would be only half a life.
I agree. We can learn a great deal from mistakes. Plus, the possibility of making a mistake enriches life by creating a challenge