Mistakes

Mistakes. We make them all the time. From bad marriages to mortgages, people will always make poor decisions. In Charles Baxter, "Letters to a Fiction Writer", Baxter states that "...you should make your own mistakes..." Which is true. Mistakes will "end up serving as resources for your writing." Not only that, mistakes will make you learn your lesson...well most of the time. Making mistakes, in my opinion, will make you realize your flaws and from there you can change. Without it, you won't.

It's a vicious cycle though. Once we make a mistake, we try to prove to ourselves that the task we just did was correct. In doing so, we make more mistakes. "We take steps to justify the steps we have taken..." This is the truth; Baxter is correct in pointing this out. Rarely do people admit that they are wrong. Only when they cannot justify their actions is when they will concede to the idea that it was a mistake. It happens to all of us.

There's no point in avoiding mistakes. You can't avoid failure, misery, apathy...etc. Trying to avoid them will cause you to make more mistakes. Here's some advice realize what you did wrong, and change from there. Don't try to make steps to justify what you have done. If you do this, you'll be better off. You'll lessen the failures and errors in life.