Overcoming your fear of making mistakes

THE story goes that a teacher wrote the multiplication table of the number nine on the board, but he intentionally made one mistake. His students kept laughing at him until he said, “you have learned how the world will treat you–laugh at your one mistake and ignore the other nine good things you do.”

In the workplace and in life, people look at their mistakes as weakness and they strive to keep it hidden unless they want to be ridiculed. But there is great value in mistakes if only we knew how to use them to our advantage.

There are generally two ways people deal with mistakes–either they avoid them completely or learn from them to grow. Avoiding mistakes starts in school when the teacher only counts the number of correct answers in favor of the student. Most people carry over this mindset to their work and think that everything is all about following the rules and avoiding making mistakes. But in reality, problems are complex and involve dependencies from other people which would sometimes lead you to commit a mistake or two.

If you avoid mistakes, you will deteriorate and you will not learn anything new. What you need is to increase your mistake tolerance by looking at mistakes as opportunities for learning and growth.

One way you can increase your mistake tolerance is to experiment with new ideas and learn by trial and error. When I was still a trainer, one of the concepts that management trainees need to learn is that leadership is both an art and a science.

In identifying the leadership style that they can adopt, they are taught to know their team members and to pattern how they lead with what their team needs. And to know this, you will need to try different methods and ways to get the right mix of what works well with your team. Use mistakes to identify what you need to avoid and to build your arsenal of motivational tools to keep your team going.

When you do commit a mistake, admit when you are wrong but provide alternative solutions. One of the reasons why people are afraid of committing mistakes is that they think there is only one way of doing things. But if you look at the evolution of your office’s processes and tools, improvement only happens after people have made mistakes. Errors are indicators that things can be improved and that there is a better way of doing things. When you commit a mistake, take it as an opportunity to improve the existing process or yourself. Who knows, you just might discover a better way of doing things.

But it also does not mean that you intentionally commit mistakes for its own sake. You need to look at an issue and take calculated risks in resolving

By Janet Colson Middle Tennessee State University

WE’VE all heard that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but how true is that?

Apples are not high in vitamin A, nor are they beneficial for vision like carrots. They are not a great source of vitamin C and therefore don’t fight off colds as oranges do.

However, apples contain various bioactive substances–natural chemicals that occur in small amounts in foods and that have biological effects in the body. While these chemicals are not classified as nutrients like vitamins, apples contain many healthpromoting bioactive substances. Thus, the fruit is considered a “functional” food.

Functional foods contain a variety of bioactive substances, each with a unique function in the body. The bioactive substances them. When it comes to complex and ambiguous issues, you need to think through of what you can do to resolve them, but, at the same time, understand the concomitant risks involved in taking a certain course of action. This way, you can also think of mitigating measures to reduce the risks and how to address the complications that might arise from them. So, when the mistake happens, you already have an action plan to address them.

When you are afraid of making a mistake, label what you are feeling and identify what is causing you to be afraid. Self-reflection will help you identify the factors that exacerbate your fear of making a mistake and will help you develop targeted solutions to reduce or even eradicate those fears.

The first step in processing any emotion is knowing what it is because its nature will determine what you can do to properly address it. For example, if you are feeling anxious, you can make a list of what is making you anxious and then identify those you can do to change it immediately. You can then focus your attention on those that you can do now, rather than worrying what could have been. We have all grown thinking that mistakes define us, but this is not true. We beat ourselves up and we become too hard on ourselves when in fact, it was just a bad day, not a bad life. An essential element in life that people forget is that people always change, whether they intend to or not. Environmental factors and societal restrictions can hinder people from fully developing, but in time, we become the kind of person that we invest our time and effort into. Mistakes help us recalibrate what we need to do, so that we can go where we need to be. If you are managing people, you need to model how to handle mistakes. Admit when you are wrong and provide solutions to address them. If possible, ask your team members how they think you should handle it and brainstorm with your team on possible fixes. If you have developed a positive team culture, they will see it as an opportunity to meaningfully contribute to the team. If not, you need to put in place processes for addressing your team’s mistakes so that they will see errors as a means of developing their own skills. for demographic and health-related factors, the researchers found that the daily apple eaters used marginally fewer prescription medications than the non-apple eaters. But the number of doctor’s visits was about the same between the two groups.

A n apple’s natural dietary fibers are one of the bioactive components that lead to its classification as a functional food. The fiber pectin is found mainly in an apple’s pulp. Pectin functions to reduce the amount of sugar and fat that is absorbed into the body. This helps reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Apple peels are also packed with fiber that acts as a laxative. In addition, apples contain high amounts of natural chemicals known as polyphenols that have vital roles in promoting health and reducing chronic disease.

So if apples are functional foods that promote health, do they really help keep the doctor away?

Researchers have tried to figure this out.

Just as much as you are working on your fear of making mistakes, you also need to increase your mistake tolerance of others. How do you react when people commit mistakes? If you get angry or annoyed at them, there is a good chance that you feel the same way about your mistakes. If people annoy you, know also that it is your problem, not theirs. In addressing other’s mistakes, you need to understand that people have learning curves and they are also just trying to learn more. Instead of judging or getting annoyed at them, try thinking of solutions that they could use. In adopting a growth mindset, you help the person but at the same time, you learn from the experience.

Thomas Edison, known for inventing the light bulb, once said that he has not failed, but that he has found 10,000 ways that do not work. Mistakes are inevitable if we are trying to improve the way we manage people, increase our work efficiency, or enhance our personal relationships.

If we want to have a better life, we need to look at mistakes as stepping stones to achieving the best version of ourselves.

If one apple a day is not enough to make us healthy, what about eating two or three?

A group of European researchers found that eating two apples a day improved heart health in 40 adults. And Brazilian investigators found that eating three apples daily improved weight loss and blood glucose levels in 40 overweight women.

SAFEGUARDING the well-being of the entire family has always been a priority for Filipinos. As champions of health and wellness, Southstar Drug (www.southstardrug.com.ph) and Maxicare (www. maxicare.com.ph) have joined forces to support Filipinos in their journey toward a healthier and happier life.

By offering an extensive selection of health essentials and world-class health services, Southstar Drug and Maxicare aim to be reliable companions, or “Kasama sa Best Life,” for Filipinos. Their shared vision emphasizes the importance of holistic health as a key to unlocking one’s full can be found naturally in foods or added during processing. The list of bioactive components in foods grows daily as research expands.

One U.S. team analyzed the apple-eating patterns and number of doctor visits among more than 8,000 adults. Of those, about nine percent ate one apple daily. Once adjusted

While eating an apple a day won’t necessarily cut down substantially on prescription medications or doctor visits, it could be one step in the direction of making the transition to eating more healthful, fiber-filled, whole foods. THE potential and achieving life goals. We’re excited to work with Maxicare to help our fellow Filipinos take charge of their health by making positive changes in their lifestyle,” said Mariel Crisostomo, General Manager of Southstar Drug. “With readily available quality healthcare solutions, they can embrace a healthier lifestyle and unlock their full potential. Just take that first step, and we’ll be here to support them every step of the way.”

To kick off this pioneering wellness partnership, Southstar Drug and Maxicare will hold the 12th edition of Run for Wellness, an annual event that aims to promote physical health and mental wellbeing, while encouraging Filipinos to take the first step in their journey toward their best life. For the first time, the event featured a Metro Manila leg at UP Diliman, Quezon City on August 13 in addition to the traditional location in Naga City, Camarines Sur, scheduled for September 10.

“With our mission to help Filipinos embrace a healthier future, Maxicare proudly joins hands with Southstar Drug for the Run for Wellness,” said Maxicare president and Chief Executive Officer Christian S. Argos. “Together, we reaffirm our dedication to fostering the well-being of Filipinos by delivering the finest healthcare services. As your health partner, we enable Filipinos to take charge of their personal wellness journey through healthy habits to help them live their best lives.”

Southstar Drug is one of the country’s largest and most established drugstore chains, with over 600 stores nationwide and a user-friendly online platform, providing a wide range of affordable medicines, products, and services. Meanwhile, Maxicare is the Philippines’ leading HMO, serving nearly 2 million members with a comprehensive range of healthcare plans for corporations, SMEs, individuals, and families.