[ar2004]

Does anyone else struggle when they make a mistake at work, even a minor one? I am very much a perfectionist and beat myself up anytime I make a mistake that I don't first find myself and fix before the boss or anyone else notices. I always feel like I have failed when my boss brings a mistake to my attention and then I feel regret for days and become very determined to never let it happen again.

[mazing]

I used to be very similar, and still am sometimes with mistakes I think I ought to have caught earlier.

I think it just takes time and constantly reminding yourself that no-one is perfect - we all make mistakes. But that's ok. What's important is how you recover - admit fault, help to fix the problem and try to learn from the experience. It doesn't mean that you won't make other mistakes or even not make the same mistake again but in time you learn other ways of completing the task.

Try not to beat yourself up Mistakes happen and most bosses are very understanding with that. It's not failing.

[ar2004]

Thanks, my boss is very understanding and forgiving of my mistakes. It's just me who is not forgiving of myself. I definitely need to work on my perfectionism as it is getting out of control in other areas of my life too. Thank you for the reminder that I need to try not to beat myself up over this.

Originally Posted by mazing

I used to be very similar, and still am sometimes with mistakes I think I ought to have caught earlier.

I think it just takes time and constantly reminding yourself that no-one is perfect - we all make mistakes. But that's ok. What's important is how you recover - admit fault, help to fix the problem and try to learn from the experience. It doesn't mean that you won't make other mistakes or even not make the same mistake again but in time you learn other ways of completing the task.

Try not to beat yourself up Mistakes happen and most bosses are very understanding with that. It's not failing.

[healingme4me]

I used to be a perfectionist, harder on myself than I was one others, once called a 'self-defeatist' by a former bf. And I am trying to really think this one through, on how to give advice on letting go of the perfectionism, the type you describe. Because I am trying to pinpoint where that all changed within me. As odd as this may sound, I want to say it all just shifted in my head, around the time I was trying every technique in the book to potty train my oldest son. That all started a little over 8 years ago. And within 2 years time, it was similar to a paradigm shift in my view on life. Not one, tip, trick, book, word of advice(aside from they won't go to kindergarten in diapers) worked. And somehow, I absolved myself of holding myself up to anyone elses standards but my own. And the idea of 'perfection' flew out the window.

[healingme4me]

Which to add, I am working now. Mistakes happen and things just roll off my shoulders. I take accountability for mistakes, take measures to not make the same one twice, if at all possible and I just stopped beating myself up, on the inside.

[cool09]

People that run the workplace don't realize that people make mistakes for some reason. That strikes me as very odd. I've had all sorts of jobs: office cleaner, cemetery worker and I was an engineer and had to keep all sorts of physics and math in my head. When I got off-track on a project or made a tiny incorrect assumption or calculation, etc. I was treated like a dog instead of being given constructive criticism. I never got it so I quit.

[ar2004]

I would love if mistakes and other things could just roll off my shoulders. Sometimes I envy people who are able to not let things bother them. I don't know how to get to that point. It may be something I need to work on in therapy. I do definitely need to stop beating myself up on the inside because it is not good for my self-esteem.

Originally Posted by healingme4me

Which to add, I am working now. Mistakes happen and things just roll off my shoulders. I take accountability for mistakes, take measures to not make the same one twice, if at all possible and I just stopped beating myself up, on the inside.

Yes, i am still mortified when i make a mistake at work...and i'm the boss.

[Webgoji]

Originally Posted by cool09

People that run the workplace don't realize that people make mistakes for some reason. That strikes me as very odd. I've had all sorts of jobs: office cleaner, cemetery worker and I was an engineer and had to keep all sorts of physics and math in my head. When I got off-track on a project or made a tiny incorrect assumption or calculation, etc. I was treated like a dog instead of being given constructive criticism. I never got it so I quit.

^ This has been my experience. I never had to worry about beating myself up over making a mistake, the managers would do that just fine.