本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛Many years ago when I first got on this job, I was energetic, ambitious and of course, lack of experience. It did not take long before I made a rather silly mistake at work and proved how “dangerous” this combination could be. The damage that this mistake had done to my career was disheartening enough to shake my confidence at that point.

I felt really down until one of my coworkers, whom I had a lot of respect for, offered me some advices. One of the points he mentioned clicked and immediately made me feel better.

This is what he said to me: “You did make a mistake. But hey, who never makes mistakes? It is just a learning curve. We’ve all been there. You still have a long career ahead of you. If this is the worst thing that could happen in your career, you are laughing! Everyone in this group speaks highly of you. Keep your chin up, learn from it and move on!”

What convinced me at that moment were not the complimentary words he used but the logic that lied in the “if” clause: If this is the worst, then my future can only be BETTER. If this is not the worst, then it could have gone worse and I should feel lucky for not having the worse thing happen to me. By learning from it, I can prevent the worse mistake from happening in the future. There is no reason for me to feel bad in either case. Isn’t this the essence of the positive attitude that people always talk about?

I did move on and have made it to where I stand now in my career after so many years. That coworker has already retired. So many things have changed at my work and in my life but the advice he offered me has always been fresh in my mind and guiding me through every difficult period of time in the course of my career.　

I am sharing this story with you folks not only because his advice helped me a lot but also it is a living epitome of how a cordial conversation can make a positive difference to someone’s life.

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