We can’t be afraid of making mistakes. Shying away from them will only inhibit our growth. Yet we fear saying something to a dear friend because we don’t want to lose him or her by sharing our honest advice. Or we fear writing something because we may be grammatically incorrect or sound too much like another author. We doubt our ability to perform, and thus we opt to sit out.
But by embracing mistakes as being part of the road to excellence, we may feel more comfortable being uncomfortable. It just takes getting through the temporary embarrassment without self-judgement and condemnation – over and over again – to get to the point where we really don’t care if we make a mistake.
Most importantly, is to recognize that you’re always going to be “at risk” of making mistakes. So, if there’s no way around them, you might as well learn how to quell your anxiety about making them so you can live a fuller life. After enough practice, you won’t be making as many mistakes, and when you do, they won’t bother you so much.