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Mistakes Quotes

On mistakes made, owned, and left behind.

This collection focuses on mistakes as part of learning - practicing a new piece and inevitably getting parts of it wrong along the way. Related reading: Better.

I was taking myself very seriously when I was going through life changes. And I realized that I needed to laugh at myself, particularly at my mistakes.

Quotes by Spencer Johnson

Words are powerful. When I make mistakes I just try to come back and clarify what I meant.

Quotes by Soulja Boy

I think there is something in my books that says these are people doing their best under difficult circumstances - sometimes they do wrong things and make mistakes, but who doesn't? And who wants to read about somebody who never...

Quotes by Sonya Hartnett

I'm about growth for myself. So if I've made a lot of mistakes, and I haven't learnt from them, then I've failed as a human being.

Quotes by Slowthai

The biggest mistakes, early on, involved foreign policy and involved the strategy for health care.

Quotes by Sidney Blumenthal

I'd like to say it is only average people who revel in the mistakes of others.

Quotes by Sibel Kekilli

I was able to be more reckless and now I still make mistakes, but having kids, you have a responsibility and these little people who are looking up to you for everything.

Quotes by Shooter Jennings

I have made number mistakes - I have such bad number dyslexia that I can look at a number and see the wrong one. I can't remember them worth beans.

Quotes by Sherwood Smith

You can't be in the public eye without making mistakes and having some regrets and having people analyze everything you do.

Quotes by Sheryl Crow

I feel in my own life I've made many mistakes. I've failed in many directions.

Quotes by Sheldon Harnick

I think making mistakes and discovering them for yourself is of great value, but to have someone else to point out your mistakes is a shortcut of the process.

Quotes by Shelby Foote

Formerly well-respected news organizations and experienced national journalists are making the sorts of mistakes that aren't tolerated in journalism schools. When their mistakes are corrected at all, it's with little seeming regret.

Quotes by Sharyl Attkisson

Obama administration officials who were in key positions on Sept. 11, 2012, acknowledge that a range of mistakes were made the night of the attacks on the U.S. missions in Benghazi, and in messaging to Congress and the public in...

Quotes by Sharyl Attkisson

I start with an idea or a problem or a conflict, or even a situation that might be pertinent to the lives of young people, then the characters grow from that point. I try to make strong characters that change...

Quotes by Sharon Draper

If my son enters politics, I will be able to guide him. He too would have learnt a lot from watching me, so he is less likely to make mistakes.

Quotes by Sharad Pawar

People make mistakes and I've probably made a few more than others, but unfortunately mine are also a bit more public. That's the way it is. You've just got to get on with life. After all, it's not a rehearsal.

Quotes by Shane Warne

I think we should learn from our mistakes.

Quotes by Shahid Afridi

The team that wins makes minimum mistakes, and the one which loses, that one makes more mistakes than the other team.

Quotes by Shahid Afridi

There is always tension between the possibilities we aspire to and our wounded memories and past mistakes.

Quotes by Sean Brady

I enjoy played flawed men who are pushed to the limit, who make mistakes and then have to recover.

Quotes by Scott Speedman

Frequently Asked Questions

What do these "mistakes" quotes reflect on?
They range from a critique of foreign policy decisions to the value of making mistakes while learning a craft, and the idea that owning up to mistakes is part of moving on.
Is there a quote criticizing U.S. foreign policy?
Yes — one speaker shares their own view that a mistake "the United States consistently made was that it could intervene and somehow adjust people's governments, especially in the Middle East." This is presented as that speaker's personal opinion.
Is there a quote about learning through practice?
There is. One speaker says, "I like to practise. With every new piece, you make mistakes and you learn," adding, "it's important to get on and have another go."
Is there a quote about owning up to mistakes?
Yes — one quote suggests that "Mistakes, once owned, apologized for, and buried, need to be an accepted part of life." Browse more reflective lines on our Better and Life quotes pages.
Is there a quote criticizing a government's handling of the Iraq war?
Yes. One speaker states their own opinion that "The Administration has made critical mistakes and errors in judgment leading up to the war in Iraq," adding a criticism that "The President refuses to acknowledge these mistakes." This is presented strictly as that speaker's own political opinion. For more, see our Always and Good quotes pages.

The recurring idea is that mistakes, once genuinely owned and apologized for, should be allowed to stay buried rather than relitigated forever. See also Good and Life.