Everyone makes mistakes. The real test isn’t whether they happen, but how you respond to them.

Take Patti Smith, the legendary singer who was invited to perform in front of global leaders and millions of viewers. But instead of the words coming out of her mouth with perfect timing and tone, the opposite happened. She froze. It was so bad that she had to stop mid-performance.

However, instead of walking off, she apologized and asked to start again. Even though she forgot a few words the second time, she eventually found her rhythm and finished strong.

Later, she described the experience as “the humiliating sting of failure.” While it was certainly humiliating and embarrassing, what stood out most was how she responded.

Because mistakes are a part of the journey, not the end of it, it reminded me of what I tell my young football players after a mistake:

In that moment after a mistake, it’s easy to say, “I’m terrible,” or “I’m not good enough.” But just because it’s easy doesn’t mean it’s helpful. In fact, it’s hurting your future performance.

Mistakes are a part of being a human. In fact, AI makes them all the time as well, and it doesn’t beat itself up; it just fixes the mistake. So stop asking yourself to be perfect and start looking for progress. Focus on how you talk to yourself immediately after a mistake so that you can respond effectively.

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