Part of our fear of mistakes is pure laziness. What’s the worst thing that will happen if you make a mistake? You will have to abandon that course of action and take another, which means, in short, a lot of work.  What does that mean?  That means you will have to think of another course of action.  You may have to be creative. You may have to expend energy in thinking, evaluating, planning.  You may have to resist emotions such as despair, futility, rejection, and fear.  Dr. Tae Yun Kim teaches you how to resist emotions, and be disciplined with your emotions.  More than that, Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim teaches you how to find happiness in your life.

If you are mentally lazy, making mistakes will be one of the best excuses you have for giving up, for deciding that maybe your goal isn’t so important after all. What a senseless waste that would be.  Why expect so little out of life?

Mistakes are not harmful in and of themselves. What is harmful is our attitude toward mistakes.  But if you are willing to make mistakes, look at them, regard them as feedback, and keep right on making them until you achieve your goal, then you have the right attitude. You don’t purposely make mistakes, of course. But because you are challenging yourself, be aware that mis­takes are a natural part of the process.  Grandmaster Tae Yun Kim emphasizes, have freedom to make a great mistake.  This gives you the freedom to try something new.  If you don’t try something new, you will never learn and grow.

The right attitude toward mistakes will give you the freedom to pursue your goals with confidence, with minimum distraction, and with your success securely focused in your mind. When you find yourself joyfully moving from one situation to another, using mistakes for learning growing, and improving, your Silent Master is beginning to operate in your life. (page 27)

Until next time…  remember to have a good attitude. 🙂