
Mistakes Are Not Failures. They’re Part of the Process
Kaboom!
My wife and I immediately turned our heads and took in the scene. Two of my kids were completely covered in grape soda. So was much of the kitchen.
We didn’t need to ask what happened. Our friends, who we had been visiting for a few days, had one of those Sodastream machines. You know, the kind that uses carbon dioxide to make sparkling water.
Well, they had shown the kids how to use it, and they were doing pretty good…Until they had the idea to use grape juice instead of water.
The result? A carbonated grape explosion.
We were pretty upset. After all, if we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times:
Ask before you do something like that!!!
My emotions started to take over. I wanted to raise my voice, to give another stern lecture…
But then I stopped.
I remembered a lesson I had read recently, a six-word expression that resonated with me the second I saw it:
Mistakes are part of the process.
Whether or not you have kids, this expression is a useful framework. Viewing mistakes through this lens—whether addressing your own mistakes or those of others—allows you to:
- Manage expectations
- Use the difficulty
- Follow the Rule of Reframing
Manage expectations
Mistakes are unavoidable, especially when you’re learning how to do something new. Recognizing that helps you not only to accept mistakes, but to expect them. This is a more realistic way of seeing the world, but it’s also something more.
Knowing “mistakes are part of the process” helps you build resilience and puts you in an excellent position to…
Use the difficulty
When you expect mistakes, this also puts you in the best position to plan to use those mistakes. After all, if “mistakes are part of the process,” exactly what process are we talking about?
The process of learning.
This is all part of…
The Rule of Reframing
In psychology, to “reframe” is to reimagine a problem by seeing it from a different perspective. Reminding yourself that “mistakes are part of the process” helps you to lessen the gravity of the situation, to see the bigger picture, and to turn negative into positive.
So, the next time you, a colleague, or a family member makes a big mistake, resist the urge to get frustrated or lose your patience. Instead, remind yourself:
Mistakes are part of the process.
By doing so, you’ll make sure to benefit from mistakes instead of simply repeating them. You’ll turn frustration into motivation—maybe even inspiration.
Best of all, there are no more failures—only more opportunities to learn.

























