I suppose we sometimes may know why we made a mistake, but for the most part a mistake is just a mistake. My co-worker, a usually dependable chap we called the Bopper, had made a beauty. His billing error caused a loaded freight car to end up in St. John’s, Newfoundland rather than Saint John, New Brunswick. At the railroad where we working, events like this required a form to be filled out. One of the questions that had to be answered was: “Why did you make this error?” The Bopper told the supervisor who was overseeing the form’s completion that he had no idea why he made the mistake. The supervisor, who couldn’t stand the Bopper at the best of times, snarled back, “Well, I know why you made the mistake!” “Okay,” said the Bopper, handing him the form, “then you fill it in.”
Mistakes are rarely made on purpose.
Immortality can be attained by one monumental mistake.
People who never make mistakes end up working for people who do.
It’s better to ask a dumb question than to make a dumb mistake.
Mistakes are a part of life, don’t dwell on them
It’s a mistake to be afraid to make a mistake.
More people would learn from their mistakes if they weren’t busy denying they made them.
Learn from others’ mistakes; you don’t have time to make them all yourself.
When you make a mistake you should be: honest enough to admit it; intelligent enough to learn from it; then, if you can, fix it.
You’re always going to make another mistake; just be sure it’s a new one.
Admitting you made a mistake shows that you’re smarter than you were.
The wise learn from mistakes; the unwise repeat them.
Making a mistake isn’t as important as what you do next.
When doing something stupid, the degree of stupidity is usually in direct proportion to the number of people watching.
We can usually achieve more by admitting we’re wrong than by trying to prove we’re right.
It’s a mistake to think you’re working for someone else.
If you lay an egg, the best thing to do is to stand back and admire it.
Mistakes can usually be remedied; so don’t live with them.
Learning from a mistake is sometimes the best restitution.
When you get a mouthful of scalding hot coffee, whatever you do next is going to be wrong.