The quote of the week comes from James Joyce: ‘Mistakes are the gateway to new discoveries.’
This quote is wonderful. Recognising mistakes as learning opportunities is something we all know. It is certainly one of the most frequently used quotes in education. The quote is a simplified form of John Wooden’s
‘Mistakes are only mistakes if you learn nothing from them.’
There is much more to James Joyce’s quote. He says in his quote, in my opinion, that there are new discoveries in mistakes. Some inventions have come about because of mistakes, including the rubber in car tyres, dynamite, Teflon, self-adhesive notes, vaccinations, pacemakers, Viagra, etc. (15 Erfindungen, die nur dank Fehlern gemacht wurden | Beobachter)
Mistakes therefore have great potential to result in something extraordinary.
It is therefore necessary to see mistakes as an opportunity and not as something negative. Everything has its positive and negative side, it depends on your perspective and your own attitude. So it is with mistakes.
Mistakes can hide treasures, you just need an alert and open eye.
When have you made a mistake that was more of an opportunity?