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Don’t be afraid to make mistakes

This story is about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he thought he was able to be so much more creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from others?

He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor—a veritable sea of milk!

When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said, “Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”

Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, “You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?” He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilled milk.

His mother then said, “You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let’s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!

This renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment “doesn’t work,” we usually learn something valuable from it.

Author Unknown

{ 25 comments… add one }
  • Blazing superior October 9, 2022, 9:29 pm

    This story helped me a lot
    Thank you

  • Frank July 30, 2022, 9:27 am

    How awesome story!!! Wow

  • E8it April 15, 2022, 9:35 pm

    👍

  • magesh December 21, 2020, 8:12 am

    super

  • magesh December 21, 2020, 8:09 am

    great inspirational message. thanks for this information. my mind say don’t afraid of mistakes, I haven’t earn anything in the world , so why you afraid of spoiling your name. let us do good things and learn experience and enjoy our life . thanks you.

  • Mary March 21, 2020, 4:05 pm

    Woo! some mistakes can be meaningful

  • tynoo March 10, 2020, 12:00 am

    Great

  • Kiran September 27, 2019, 5:48 am

    Good One

  • philipmax September 19, 2019, 9:43 am

    l love de story. Tanks alot

  • U San Htay August 30, 2019, 1:39 am

    Energizing

  • Girish. Kulkarni July 28, 2019, 7:27 am

    Nice moralistic story.

  • Sadhna Sindhu July 22, 2019, 5:17 am

    Wonderful story.
    Thank you for sharing!!

  • Jann March 9, 2019, 9:37 pm

    Now that I’ve read this I have a new “best story”, thanks!

  • Hailemichael Atersaw March 1, 2019, 11:16 am

    Very helpful story… thanks indeed

  • Joseph Muya January 15, 2019, 2:40 am

    Heart touching

  • Jann January 8, 2019, 7:31 pm

    I love this story. This is how I was trying to bring up my son and daughter.

  • DSP December 21, 2018, 11:16 am

    Heart Touching and Life Changing story.

  • Jeena December 19, 2018, 1:47 pm

    What a beautiful lesson. I found this blog a few years back and have read almost all of the articles here. I even shared it with my colleagues back then. I’m glad that this is now active again and hoping to have more inspiring stories to read. 🙂

  • Jagadish Sahu December 13, 2018, 9:26 am

    Beautiful story teaching a great lesson

  • Prasanta Hembram December 9, 2018, 5:53 am

    It is really nice story. If you have some more please send to me. Thanks a lot.

  • Mano December 8, 2018, 4:36 am

    Wonderful story…and such a motherly way of teaching kids! I enjoy your stories very much… Can’t wait for the next.

  • Lawrence December 8, 2018, 3:26 am

    Worth telling our children and grand children. Many thanks.

  • Neil B. December 7, 2018, 9:07 pm

    I found this website a few years ago and I can’t tell you how many times I have come back to find stories that will encourage me and others. I have used these for inspiring stories to encourage those I was head of in a specific organization. I have cried many times rereading them, time and time again. Today’s story is no different. I wish more people could add to the stories on this website. Thanks again so much for some amazing and encouraging stories that can warm anyone’s heart. God bless and have a great Christmas!!!

  • Rajni Gohil December 7, 2018, 5:07 pm

    What a beautiful way to teach children not to fear about mistakes. We all know that Thomas Alva Edison failed thousands of time before he made workable light bulb. Treating mistakes as our teachers and learning from it and resolve to find a way, not to repeal it is the best thing to do.

  • Bahati December 7, 2018, 3:16 pm

    Thanks

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