It’s one of my major principles in life… Owning up to my mistakes.
Whenever I made a mistake at work, or in any setting for that matter, I would raise my hand and say so. If I’d forgotten to do something or just made an error, I would say so. I wouldn’t make excuses. I’ve always felt like making excuses is a sign of weakness. Owning up takes courage and I think that’s really important.
I’ve lived by my principles and never really paid any attention to what other people were doing. I mean if someone liked making excuses instead of telling the truth, that’s their problem, right? I wasn’t going to do that.
Over time though, I’ve come to notice that highlighting your faults is not the best the thing in the world. People are fickle and will only remember you for your faults. This is probably why people don’t admit their mistakes and quite possibly why I’ve had issues with people at work.
These days, I’ve noticed that people broadcast their wins and being right, really really loud. And when they’re wrong, they find a way to walk back what they’ve said, unless it’s really obvious.
When it’s too obvious to walk back or deny, they’ll make a big deal about saying that they were wrong. They end up sounding so humble like they’ve done such a service by admitting that they were wrong. Sometimes it’s genuine but, a lot of times it’s not.
I don’t know if that’s the right way to be. I can’t not live by my principles but, I’ve learned to dial it down. I don’t always have to broadcast that I’ve made a mistake. Sometimes, it’s ok to say sorry and sometimes it’s enough to just fix the situation without having to say anything at all.
One things for sure though, I would never make excuses or walk back what I’ve done. Right or wrong, I’d own up to it.
Looking through a frosty window... 