A Little Mistake Can Make A Big Impact

People make mistakes everyday, but why? Just a simple decision can change your life in more ways than you think. Although you may not think something as little as a few words leaving your mouth can impact something or someone you love. I know this is true because I’ve experienced it more times then I can count.

But, there was one time that won’t leave my mind because of how big of an impact it made on my life and even others. My team and I had a softball game a few hours away, so making a mistake was at the bottom of my list. Yet it managed to go downhill very fast. Being on the mound is already a lot of pressure so every little thing needs to be forgotten to move on to the next pitch. Meanwhile, the rain during the game had brought me back to a few years ago in travel. One of the worst years I’ve experienced playing softball because of one single coach. It was a terrible environment to be playing in and I fear it everyday. Although the rain had brought me back to those times and I was in my head. Making many mistakes on the mound but I couldn’t forget them. My coach called a timeout to come talk to me to remind myself to just let it go, it’s just a game. When he got up to me the first thing he said was, “can you do it for the team and push through, or do you wanna go sit on the bench.” and that’s the moment I made a big mistake. I told him I’d be better off on the bench because I couldn’t take it anymore. He sighed and went to the umpire to sub me out of the game.

Although, I thought I was still in the game on offense. But when I was getting ready to bat, he had subbed another player out for me. I was hoping I could change my mental state by staying in the game on offense and making a positive impact there because I couldn’t in the field. I sat down in pure defeat and regret. The look on my coaches face full of fear and disappointment. I knew I’d never forget it, and that’s when it hit me. Such a little mistake can turn your mind upside down.

I regret this moment everyday, and not because of the impact it made on me. But I had let my team down and, more importantly, the only coach who had the most belief in every step I took. The moral of this story wasn’t to tell you to stop making mistakes, because that’s not possible. But rethink back on the mistakes you’ve made, and see how it impacted you and the people around you. Not taking responsibility is probably the biggest mistake you can make. So learn from them because every mistake is a lesson, and one decision can have a huge impact on your life.

“The four capital mistakes of open source” by opensourceway is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.