A Mistake or a Bad Decision?

We all make mistakes in life, because we’re all fallible. But far too often, we try to minimize our bad decisions by referring to them as “mistakes”. A mistake is something that results from bad information or inattentiveness; i.e., you put salt in a recipe instead of sugar or you forget to record a withdrawal and end up overdrawing your bank account. The effect of both situations is negative, but not intentional. You see, that is the true nature of a mistake – it is unintentional. Sure, a mistake may end up creating very negative consequences (Aunt Sally gets choked on your salty cake and your bank imposes stiff penalties on you for overdrafts), but you didn’t decide to do something you knew could be harmful. 

Compare that to the politician who cheats on his wife and then announces he “made a mistake”. Really? He had no idea that he was doing something that was harmful to his reputation, his wife and his children? Or the Wall Street executive who announces at his trial that his deceptive trading practices were a “mistake”.  

These days, we are far too willing to claim “mistakes” when we need to be claiming responsibility. People who are committed to excellence understand the difference. It’s about personal accountability.