quotations about mistakes
It is only an error of judgment to make a mistake, but it argues an infirmity of character to adhere to it when discovered.
CHRISTIAN NESTELL BOVEE
Intuitions and Summaries of Thought
I never made a mistake in my life; at least, never one that I couldn't explain away afterwards.
RUDYARD KIPLING
Under the Deodars
Unhappy is he who mistakes the branch for the tree, the shadow for the substance.
RABBI SIMON
attributed, Day's Collacon
To kill an error is as good a service as, and sometimes even better than, the establishing of a new truth or fact.
CHARLES DARWIN
letter to A. Stephen Wilson, March 5, 1879
I can bear to hear of imputed or real errors. The man who wishes to stand well in the opinion of others must do this; because he is thereby enabled to correct his faults, or remove prejudices which are imbibed against him.
GEORGE WASHINGTON
letter to Joseph Reed, January 14, 1776
There are people who make no mistakes because they never wish to do anything worth doing.
JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE
The Maxims and Reflections of Goethe
The important thing in my view is not to pin the blame for a mistake on somebody, but rather to find out what caused the mistake.
AKIO MORITA
Made in Japan
Mistakes are road signs pointing you back to the proper path.
DARIN PENZERA
Heroic Egoism
Do not dwell upon the sins and mistakes of yesterday so exclusively as to have no energy and mind left for living rightly today.
JAMES ALLEN
Byways of Blessedness
Mistakes are opportunities to learn.
DON MCCABE
If It Is To Be, It Is Up To Me To Do It
Mistakes are like accidents: they are bound to happen, but if we take precautions we have a fairly good chance of minimizing their number and their impact. If we do that, there is no reason to worry: we have enough protection.
GABOR FORRAI
Reference, Truth and Conceptual Schemes: A Defense of Internal Realism
The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.
JOHN POWELL
The Secret of Staying in Love
Our mistakes are especially interesting because they are a major source of wreckage in our relationships, careers, and lives, leading to needless conflict and misunderstanding. Our mistakes lead to ineffective solutions to some of society's biggest problems, and they can send nations into needless wars with the worst of consequences. Fortunately for improvement's sake, the mistakes we make trying to understand the minds of others are predictable and therefore correctable.
NICHOLAS EPLEY
Mindwise
Mistakes are okay. They're here to help you grow. They teach us what we should and shouldn't do.
PHARAOH MITCHELL
Unstoppable
Makin' mistakes ain't a crime, you know. What's the use of having a reputation if you can't ruin it every now and then?
SIMONE ELKELES
Perfect Chemistry
You will make all kinds of mistakes; but as long as you are generous and true, and also fierce, you cannot hurt the world or even seriously distress her.
WINSTON CHURCHILL
My Early Life: A Roving Commission
Brother, brother; we are both in the wrong.
JOHN GAY
Beggar's Opera
Those who learn from their mistakes, are achievers and those who keep on crying on their failures, are losers.
SANJEEV KUMAR
31 Distinctive Qualities for Becoming Rich
We ought not to look back, unless it is to derive useful lessons from past errors, and for the purpose of profiting by dear bought experience. To enveigh against things that are past and irremediable, is unpleasing; but to steer clear of the shelves and rocks we have struck upon, is the part of wisdom, equally as incumbent on political as other men, who have their own little bark, or that of others, to navigate through the intricate paths of life, or the trackless ocean, to the haven of security and rest.
GEORGE WASHINGTON
letter to Major-General Armstrong, March 26, 1781
One error persisted in, frequently produces others.
SAMUEL RICHARDSON
Sir Charles Grandison