The ABC's Of Handling Mistakes

A grizzled old sea captain was often spotted by his crew opening a small,
locked box on the bridge, peeking inside at its contents and shutting the
lid before anyone might glimpse inside. The crew's curiosity grew and, on
the day he retired, they rushed to the bridge, cut the lock and looked
inside the box. There they found a sheet of paper that read, "Left - port.
Right - starboard."

Are you afraid to make a mistake? Some people feel as if no one is ever
paying attention until they make a mistake! If you goofed in a big way
recently, maybe you need to hear about Roy Riegels.

The story is told about Roy and the 1929 Rose Bowl championship football
game between Georgia Tech and the University of California. Shortly before
halftime, a man named Roy Riegels made a huge mistake. He got the ball for
California and somehow became confused and started running in the wrong
direction! One of his teammates outdistanced him and tackled him after he
had run 65 yards, just before he would have scored for the opposing team.
Of course, Georgia Tech gained a distinct advantage through the error.

The men filed off the field and went into the dressing room. All but Riegels
sat down on the benches and on the floor. He wrapped his blanket around his
shoulders, sat in a corner, put his face in his hands and wept.

Coach Nibbs Price struggled with what to do with Roy. He finally looked at
the team and said simply, "Men, the same team that played the first half
will start the second."

All the players except Roy trotted out to the field. He didn't budge.
Though the coach looked back and called to him again, he remained huddled in
the corner. Coach Price went to him and said,

"Roy, didn't you hear me?"

"Coach," he said, "I can't do it. I've ruined you; I've ruined the school;
I've ruined myself. I couldn't face that crowd in the stadium to save my
life."

But Coach Price put his hand on Riegels' shoulder and said, "Roy, get up and
go on back; the game is only half over."

Roy Riegels went back and those Tech men will tell you that they have never
seen a man play football as well as Roy Riegels played that second half.

The next time you make a mistake, it might be good to remember the ABC
method of handling mistakes.

A -- Acknowledge your error and accept responsibility for it. Don't try to
fix the blame on other people or circumstances. When you fix the blame, you
never fix the problem.

B -- Be gentle with yourself. The game is only half over. This is not the
first mistake you ever made, nor will it be the last. You are still a good
and caring person. Besides, later you may laugh at the blunder, so try to
lighten up a bit now.

C -- Correct it and move on. Correcting mistakes may also mean to make
amends, if necessary. "Those who are wise don't consider it a blessing to
make no mistakes," says Wang Yang-Ming. "They believe instead that the great
virtue is the ability to correct mistakes and to continually reinvent
oneself."

Now, go make your mistakes. And though some may be no less than spectacular,
if you practice the ABC method, you'll live to laugh about many of them.

Steve Goodier
This reading can be found in Steve Goodier's book PRESCRIPTION FOR PEACE