Thursday 17 April 2008

To Err Is Human (My Stupid Mistakes)


Life doesn't always go in a straight line. Making mistakes is part of the game. Some are inevitable and we just have to accept them and make the best of them. But some could have been prevented, which only proves that we didn't learn from our earlier mistakes.

A friend told me about a very special list, a personal accounting of every mistake he made."To make mistakes is normal," he said, "but to make the same mistake twice is inexcusable."

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.- George Santayana

Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience.- Denis Whitley

I liked the idea and immediately adapted his system. That was many years ago and my list has grown to a respectable size! It contains documents and jottings about all the mistakes, the misjudgments, and the stupid decisions I have made.

Being reminded of past mistakes is unpleasant, but I do go through the folder periodically in order to prevent myself from repeating them. It’s a difficult but very effective way to learn. Have you ever thought of making a list of your mistakes? Try it!

Something to share …..

What’s a great idea! Keep a list of our mistakes as days go by for periodical review as we move on in life. To me, “a collection of mistakes” should be known as bitter experiences.

We have been taught, “To err is human.” It’s normal to make mistakes. Otherwise, we will never learn. But it’s just stupid of us to repeat the same mistakes. That’s what team members always being reminded by their team leader.

Inexcusable. Why not?

Well, there is still a tendency of making the same mistakes again if we do not keep a list of our mistakes reminding us not to repeat them. Question is whether we are able to excuse ourselves for such stupidity?

Don’t blame others. Don’t blame your superior. Blame your ownself if you have never learned but appear stupid of committing the same mistakes over and over gain.

On the other hand, we should have learned from our past mistakes and bitter experiences as we move on our career path. We become much wiser in making good judgments and right decisions. The end results are always sweet out of job satisfaction.

Don’t you think so?

2 comments:

jmtan2007.blogspot.com said...

To err is human. Yes, we do make mistakes. We must not be afraid to make mistakes. WE must try new things.Many people are non starters bc thay are afraid of making mistakes. Edision made 1000 mistakes b4 he successfully invented the light bulb which benefited all mankind. WE learn thru our mistakes and the mistakes of others. We must not repeat the mistakes. Mankind became more intelligent thru many mistakes they had gone thru the thousand of years of evolution. Mankind is what we are today bc man dares to try new things and make mistakes and learn along the way. Rome was not built in a day so was the Great Wall of China. They were built thru great sweat and tears and in the process sacrificed many lives. Since retired, I always like to cook instead of eating out. I'll always try out my own recipes and they always turn out to be good. I had even tried making nasi lemak my own style even though I've not done it b4 and with no help from anyone. Just the thought of having eaten nasi lemak b4 in a Malay stall. I like to experiment all types of cooking. With my wife still at work, I do as I like in the kitchen. I'm the master of my little kingdom with my pots and pans. By the time my betterhalf comes back at 2pm, lunch is ready and ready to taste my culinary experiments. Usually I get high marks- or else no more homecooking!
Hey, Good Goodlooking, what's got cooking - that's my favourite song too. See, that's how u enjoy ur work. Make the chores of cooking into the joy of working. I usually put on the golden oldies full blast while I work in th kitchen. This is not possible in the weekends while the Mrs is around. In the Weekends, my turn to rest and the Mrs will be tinkering around in the kitchen to the sound of music, I mean pots and pans. Then I will give gradings A - Z. That's life 4 u my friend as a retiree. I heard ur Mrs is a fatastic cook as can be seen from ur CNY dinner photos. I know u can also cook which u learnt while u were a scout in school. Try to rejuvernate ur culinary skills when u retire one day. If Yan can cook, Tan can also cook. Pakloh can cook too.They all can team up and cook up a storm and have a Feast of Fury!

jmtan2007.blogspot.com said...

WOK with Tan
Claypot chicken

Get a pair of chicken thighs. Clean them up and chop into 8 pieces. Heat some oil in a wok and them add some chopped garlic.Then throw in the chickens and fry them for 5 mins. Then put in some cut red carrots,mushrooms and potatoes. Add some pak kok (star shape Indian spices). Sprinkle in some sesame seed oil and soya sauce. Add in 2 teaspoon of sugar. Stir the concortion for a while. Cover it and leave it boiling for 10 mins. And hey, presto! Your claypot chicken is ready for the table. This is my own recipe, much diffrent from those served in the Chinese Restaurants. Try it and u won't regret it. U will be craving for more.