President's Opening Address 18 November 2010
“The difference between greatness and mediocrity is often how an individual views a mistake”
I remember when I was in my primary school, making mistakes was a very embarrassing thing, to me. My classmates would laugh at my mistakes, and worse, my teachers would like to pick on me more in order to ensure I learn. Back then, my belief was making mistake was bad and had to be avoided at all cost. The result was that I stopped trying new things and stopped growing my potentials.
Too often, we choose to settle for status quo because our fear of making mistakes and that has prevented us from venturing outside our comfort zone. But we failed to realize that not making mistakes is also a mistake. A person who has never made a mistake has probably never tried anything new. Yes it is safer to stay within our comfort zone and not to make any mistakes. But that would also mean we have to live uninteresting and unrewarding lives. We need to know that we are here to grow our potentials and expand our horizons.
The invention of the light bulb only came about after almost two years of failed attempts and mistakes. Imagine what will happen to us if Thomas Edison had never venture outside his comfort zone because of his fear of making mistakes? We would still be living in the world of darkness.
Well, it’s easy not to make mistakes; just stop trying, stop growing, and stop living! If you don’t find this kind of life fulfilling, I invite you to take a step out of your comfort zone and bask in the joy of your mistakes.
Remember, our mistakes are the bridges between inexperience and wisdom.
I remember when I was in my primary school, making mistakes was a very embarrassing thing, to me. My classmates would laugh at my mistakes, and worse, my teachers would like to pick on me more in order to ensure I learn. Back then, my belief was making mistake was bad and had to be avoided at all cost. The result was that I stopped trying new things and stopped growing my potentials.
Too often, we choose to settle for status quo because our fear of making mistakes and that has prevented us from venturing outside our comfort zone. But we failed to realize that not making mistakes is also a mistake. A person who has never made a mistake has probably never tried anything new. Yes it is safer to stay within our comfort zone and not to make any mistakes. But that would also mean we have to live uninteresting and unrewarding lives. We need to know that we are here to grow our potentials and expand our horizons.
The invention of the light bulb only came about after almost two years of failed attempts and mistakes. Imagine what will happen to us if Thomas Edison had never venture outside his comfort zone because of his fear of making mistakes? We would still be living in the world of darkness.
Well, it’s easy not to make mistakes; just stop trying, stop growing, and stop living! If you don’t find this kind of life fulfilling, I invite you to take a step out of your comfort zone and bask in the joy of your mistakes.
Remember, our mistakes are the bridges between inexperience and wisdom.
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