My mistakes seem, perhaps a little unexpectedly, to make me more sympathetic.
Nobody likes to make mistakes – myself included.
I even hate making “small” mistakes, such as misspelling an email, forgetting a birthday or missing something in the calendar.
It feels disrespectful.
I remember, for example, when I lost the keys to the Airbnb in Scotland. Me and the golf group I was with had to check into a hotel a few miles away, in the middle of the night. Ouch.
I agonize over every mistake and how other people will perceive me when it happens.
But the fact is that there is a strong psychological effect that suggests that mistakes can actually lead to being liked; the “Pratfall Effect”.
It says that we humans are perceived as more sympathetic when we show our vulnerabilities and make mistakes.
So if you’re like me, at the next mistake, remember that it hopefully makes you more likeable.
