Mistakes Reflection Activity

Instructions:
Think about a mistake you made in the last couple weeks, preferably one that is not too emotionally charged. It
could be anything – a mistake you made while learning something new, maybe you misunderstood the
instructions for a task at work and did it incorrectly, or maybe a social faux pas where you said something you
wish you hadn’t, or you snapped at someone and regretted it later.

STEP 1
Respond to the prompts in the boxes below. NOTE: This is only for you you will not have to share this with
anyone unless you want to.
What happened?

The new functionality for our product crashed last week because I made a mistake.

What were the consequences?

I blamed myself for my error and thought I couldn't do well. I noticed I was falling into a fixed mindset,
so I used my skills to develop a growth mindset

Did you have the opportunity to correct the mistake? If so, how did it go and how did it make you feel?
I handled my error better with a growth mindset. Learning from my mistake, I fixed it. I also gained
confidence in my work. I think a growth mentality is crucial for success in any area.

PERTS, Stanford University www.perts.net twitter.com/pertslab contact@perts.net

 Mistakes Reflection Activity

STEP 2
In this column, write what you remember saying to
yourself about the mistake. Think about what you said
both immediately afterwards and later on. Try to be as
honest as possible and give as many phrases as you
can recall or that you might say in a similar situation.
Is there a way you would like to reframe any of your
selftalk to be more tolerant of your mistake and to
reflect a growth mindset? Use this column to reframe
relevant statements.

I can't believe I did that I messed up, but it's okay. Everyone makes
mistakes."

I'm so stupid. I'm not stupid. I just made a mistake

I'm going to get fired I'm not going to get fired. My boss knows that
everyone makes mistakes.

I'm going to let everyone down I'm not going to let everyone down. I'm going to fix
this mistake and learn from it

I'm such a failure I'm not a failure. Just because I made a mistake
doesn't mean I'm a failure.

I'm not going to let this mistake define me I'm going to remember that I'm not perfect, but I'm
capable of learning and growing from my mistakes

I need to be more careful next time I'm going to be more careful next time, but I know
that I'm going to make mistakes in the future. That's
okay. Everyone does.

PERTS, Stanford University www.perts.net twitter.com/pertslab contact@perts.net