Life is full of tiny errors that, while frustrating in the moment, can help us grow as individuals in the long run. These little miscues are essential for our self-education, as nobody starts off knowing everything. But despite the fact that everyone makes mistakes, we often dwell on them for far longer than we should, which can contribute to self-doubt that does more harm than good.
It’s important to view mistakes not as personal failings but rather as building blocks for a more complete, well-rounded life. We need to be able to shrug our shoulders, learn whatever lessons present themselves, and look toward the future with a lighthearted attitude instead of continually fretting over the past.
Here are 12 insightful quotes about how to laugh off life’s little mistakes that will hopefully encourage you to grant yourself more grace and forgiveness going forward.
To err is human, to forgive divine.
The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.
All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.
Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.
Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.
Holding on is believing that there’s a past; letting go is knowing that there’s a future.
A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.
No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.
Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a full life.
You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.
Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to error that counts.
We are products of our past, but we don’t have to be prisoners of it.
Featured Image Credit: Noam Galai/ Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
Bennett Kleinman
Bennett is a staff writer at Optimism as well as a freelance comedy writer. He's based in New York City.
