Before he created the first working light bulb, Thomas Edison made several thousand unsuccessful ones. When a reporter asked Edison about these failures, the famous inventor replied, "I have not failed. I've discovered ten thousand ways which don't work."
When was the last time you made a mistake? How did you feel, and what did you tell yourself about it? Most of us don't enjoy making mistakes, but as the Edison quote shows, mistakes and failures are essential to learning.
Educator Fred Rogers tells the following story of a young apprentice who applied for a job with a master carpenter:
"Do you know your trade?" asked the master carpenter, to which the young man proudly replied, "Yes, sir!"
"Have you ever made a mistake?" inquired the older man.
"No, sir!" answered the young man, feeling confident that he was about to get the job.
"Then there's no way I'm going to hire you," said the master carpenter, "because when you make one, you won't know how to fix it." The problem is not making a mistake, but rather what we often tell ourselves when we make one. "What's wrong with you?" we might say to ourselves, or "Can't you do anything right?" Internal messages such as these are guaranteed to make us feel discouraged and reluctant to take risks. So, how about altering your internal message when you make a mistake? In teaching his music students, conductor Benjamin Zander advises that when students make mistakes in their playing, they should "lift their arms in the air, smile, and say 'How fascinating!" When you make a mistake, remember that you're on the verge of learning something. Expect and embrace mistakes as opportunities to move forward in wisdom and success. What could be more fascinating than that?
What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Mistakes change internal messages in people.
B. Mistakes provide some of the best opportunities for learning.
C. Mistakes are essential for acquiring a job.
D. Mistakes can teach us how to invent a light bulb or play an instrument.