149 Mistake Quotes About Life To Help You Bounce Back

If you’re looking for some motivation to help you make better choices, let these mistake quotes serve as your useful guide.

According to a study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, making mistakes can actually improve our learning and memory retention by activating the brain’s reward center.

Share mistake quotes to inspire others to view mistakes as opportunities to grow and learn.

Everyone makes mistakes.

It’s in our nature as humans to fail.

Whether it’s at school, at work, your family life, or in your relationships, you’re bound to disappoint yourself and others at some point.

But for you to make progress in life, you must learn from your mistakes.

You must learn to understand why you made a mistake or experienced failure, and take corrective actions.

That’s what successful people do.

If you have ever done something only to regret it later, it doesn’t mean you’re doomed.

You can learn how to make better choices, and these mistake quotes will help you do just that.

They will help you gain valuable wisdom that will benefit you in the future.

Along the road of life, you make many choices.

And the decisions you make will determine the kind of person you become later and even affect your future.

To help you make better choices, below is our collection of inspirational, wise, and thought-provoking mistake quotes, mistake sayings, and mistake proverbs, collected from a variety of sources over the years.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration. 

Check out our inspirational quotes category page for more inspirational life quotes.

Mistake quotes to help you bounce back

The American Psychological Association reports that reflecting on our mistakes can lead to greater self-awareness and personal growth.

Use mistake quotes to encourage others to take a step back and evaluate their own errors to gain valuable insights.

1. “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” ― Albert Einstein

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2. “Don’t be ashamed by your mistakes, they only prove that you try hard and never give up.” ― Riley Czarkowski

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3. “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” ― L.M. Montgomery

4. “My greatest hope regarding the future rests on the mistakes I’ve made in the past, for those are the most effective things I’ve got to build with.” ― Craig D. Lounsbrough

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5. “Success lies in one’s ability to learn from mistakes.” ― Dr Prem Jagyasi

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6. “There are no failures, if you learn and grow from your mistakes; there are only lessons learned.” ― Dee Waldeck

7. “Let all your regrets and mistakes become your sails and your rudders, and not your anchors” ― Sotero M Lopez II

8. “When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way.” ― Paulo Coelho

9. “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

10. “A mistake is only a mistake if you dwell on it. Let go and forgive.” ― Akiroq Brost

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Mistake quotes that will inspire you to make good decisions for your goals and dreams

In a survey conducted by Harvard Business Review, 62% of respondents said that learning from their mistakes was a key factor in their professional success.

Share mistake quotes to remind readers that mistakes are a natural part of learning and can help them achieve their goals.

11. “Don’t let the mistakes and disappointments of the past control and direct your future.” ― Zig Ziglar

12. “If people refuse to look at you in a new light and they can only see you for what you were, only see you for the mistakes you’ve made, if they don’t realize that you are not your mistakes, then they have to go.” ― Steve Maraboli

13. “We learn from failure, not from success!” ― Bram Stoker

14. “The mistakes we regret the most are the ones we were too scared to make.”  ― Ollie Slaney

15. “Well, we all make mistakes, dear, so just put it behind you. We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us.” ― L.M. Montgomery

16. “Smart people learn from their mistakes. But the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others.” ― Brandon Mull

17. “A man must learn from his own mistakes, to be what he wishes to be.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita

18. “I have learned all kinds of things from my many mistakes. The one thing I never learn is to stop making them.” ― Joe Abercrombie

19. “I have made so many mistakes but I have learned a lot and I’m confident to say – he who never made a mistake never made any discovery” ― Bernard Kelvin Clive

20. “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.” ― Sophocles

Mistake quotes that will help you make progress in your life

21. “Mistakes are, after all, the foundations of truth, and if a man does not know what a thing is, it is at least an increase in knowledge if he knows what it is not. ” ― Carl G. Jung

22. “Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.” ― George Bernard Shaw

23. “The sooner you make your first five thousand mistakes the sooner you will be able to correct them.” ― Kimon Nicolaides

24. “Don’t confuse poor decision-making with destiny. Own your mistakes. It’s ok; we all make them. Learn from them so they can empower you!” ― Steve Maraboli

25. “Forget your mistakes but remember what they taught you.” ― Vannetta Chapman

26. “It takes guts and humility to admit mistakes. Admitting we’re wrong is courage, not weakness.” ― Roy T. Bennett

27. “We make our discoveries through our mistakes: we watch one another’s success: and where there is freedom to experiment there is hope to improve.” ― Sir Arthur Thomas

28. “The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.” ― Elbert Hubbard

29. “We all mess up. It’s what we learn from our mistakes that matters.” ― Lauren Myracle

30. “Everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is to not make the same mistake twice.” ― Stephanie Perkins

Mistake quotes to help you make better choices

31. “Mistake is a single page in a part of Life ….but Relation is a book of dictionary —–So don’t lose a full Book for a single page.” ― Rubeccapalm Rose

32. “One mistake does not have to rule a person’s entire life.” ― Joyce Meyer

33. “Embrace being perfectly imperfect. Learn from your mistakes and forgive yourself, you’ll be happier.” ― Roy Bennett

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34. “We often need to lose sight of our priorities in order to see them.” ― John Irving

35. “It’s not a person’s mistakes which define them – it’s the way they make amends.”  ― Freya North

36. “Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience.” ― Denis Waitley

37. “And a step backward, after making a wrong turn, is a step in the right direction.” ― Kurt Vonnegut

38. “Our mistakes and regrets are not barriers to becoming who we can be; they are a necessary ingredient.” ― David Schnarch

39. “Mistakes are the growing pains of wisdom.” ― William Jordan

40. “Mistakes are the usual bridge between inexperience and wisdom.” ― Phyllis Theroux

Mistake quotes to inspire and teach

41. “Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes.” ― John Dewey

42. “To make no mistakes is not in the power of man; but from their errors and mistakes the wise and good learn wisdom for the future.” ― Plutarch

43. “If you are afraid to take a chance, take one anyway. What you don’t do can create the same regrets as the mistakes you make.”― Iyanla Vanzant

44. “We have to make mistakes, it’s how we learn compassion for others.” ― Curtis Sittenfeld

45. “A mistake made with good in your heart is still a mistake, but it is one for which you must forgive yourself.” ― Linda Sue Park

46. “One who makes no mistakes makes nothing.” ― Giacomo Casanova

47. “Mistakes are a part of being human. Precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way. Unless it’s a fatal mistake, which, at least, others can learn from.” ― Al Franken

48. “Show me a person who has never made a mistake and I’ll show you someone who has never achieved much.” ― Joan Collins

49. “You see, the best thing about wrong decisions is that they don’t prevent you from making the right decisions later on. It’s harder, but it’s not impossible.” ― Siobhan Vivian

50. “You make mistakes, mistakes don’t make you” ― Maxwell Maltz

Thought-provoking mistake quotes

51. “The ability to learn from mistakes is a sign of intelligence. The willingness to admit ignorance is a sign of wisdom.”– Dr. T.P.Chia

52. “It’s human to make mistakes and some of us are more human than others.”— Ashleigh Brilliant

53. “The best way to prevent repeatedly echoing past mistakes is to operate as if your emotional pathology is always in play unless proven otherwise, not vice versa.”– Alan Robert Neal

54. “I never made a mistake in my life. I thought I did once, but I was wrong.”– Charles M. Schulz

55. “It’s only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.”– Joseph Conrad

56. “If you’re making mistakes it means you’re out there doing something.”– Neil Gaiman

57. “Don’t dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energies on moving forward toward finding the answer.”– Denis Waitley

58. “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”– George Bernard Shaw

59. “Nothing is a mistake. There’s no win and no fail. There’s only make.”– Corita Kent

60. “An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.”– Niels Bohr

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More mistake quotes and sayings

61. “Its not a problem to make a mistake while learning, the problem is not learning from the mistake.” – Phila Dittrich

62. “To failure at something is an attempt to succeed. Be strong and try again.” – Lailah Gifty Akita

63. “Don’t forgive people until they understand their mistakes.” – M.F. Moonzajer

64. “Regret for not learning; not for the mistakes you did.” – Garbyal

65. “But it’s important to acknowledge that while we may make mistakes, in the long run, we may also learn from them.” – Sarah Dessen

66. “Every mistake committed is a learning opportunity.” – Santosh Kalwar

67. “Every time there is a mistake, learn from it, change the plan and keep moving forward.” – Pooja Agnihotri

68. “Making mistakes is not a serious issue. However, making again that raises questions.” – Ehsan Sehgal

69. “Remember that stupidity in some cases, like the universe, can be endless.” – C.A.A. Savastano

70. “If someone makes a mistake and you still want them in your life, then forgive them.” – R.J. Intindola

Mistake Quotes To Learn From Them

71. “You cannot improve your future if you are not willing to try something new and risk making mistakes and learning from them.” ― Robert Kiyosaki

72. “The most valuable thing you can make is a mistake. You can’t learn anything from being perfect.” ― Adam Osborne

73. “It is the highest form of self-respect to admit our errors and mistakes and make amends for them.” ― Dale E. Turner

74. “It is all right to make mistakes; nothing is perfect because with perfection, we would not exist.” ― Stephen Hawking

75. “It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something.” ― Ornette Coleman

76. “Life is just the same as learning to swim. Do not be afraid of making mistakes, for there is no other way of learning how to live!” ― Alfred Adler

77. “Those who aren’t making mistakes probably aren’t making anything.” ― Samuel Smiles

78. “It’s okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers — they help us to learn.” ― John Bradshaw

79. “You must learn from your past mistakes, but not lean on your past successes.” ― Denis Waitley

80. “You’ve got to work with your mistakes until they look intended. Understand?” ― Raymond Carver

Mistake Quotes To Make You Ambitious

81. “I enjoy growing older and wiser and learning from my mistakes every single day.” ― Ellen DeGeneres

82. “We all make mistakes, don’t we? But if you can’t forgive yourself, you’ll always be an exile in your own life.” ― Curtis Sittenfeld

83. “I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes…you’re Doing Something.” ― Neil Gaiman

84. “The hardest mistakes to learn from are those that lack consequence.” ― Jasper Sole

85. “Survivors lived with their mistakes.” ― Nora Roberts

86. “The greatest mistake a person can make is to be afraid of making one.” ― Elbert Hubbard

87. “We’re all capable of mistakes, but I do not care to enlighten you on the mistakes we may or may not have made.” ― Al Gore

88. “You must cease from looking at human mistakes and look at successes; cease from seeing faults and see virtues.” ― Wallace D. Wattles

89. “Leaping away from my mistakes has propelled me forward. It has great force behind it. It makes for great storytelling.” ― Holly Near

90. “Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not to suffer.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli

Mistake Quotes To Help You Acquire Life Lessons

91. “Being able to spot mistakes and communicate clearly on how to improve is a core managerial skill that will enhance employee performance efficiency.” ― Steve Gold

92. “Mistakes arm you with new knowledge that you can bring to the situation.” ― Tom Meitner

93. “If you make a mistake, be big enough to admit to the mistake. People will think much better if you make an admission after a mistake.” ― Keith Boyer

94. “By failing, a lesson can be learned. One can learn to avoid the mistake that caused the failure.” ― Glen Mizrahi

95. “Stop flogging yourself over the past mistakes and hurtful memories of the past.” ― Kellie Sullivan

96. “Self-development will help you better yourself, and it’ll allow you to make way fewer mistakes, helping your business to grow and survive.” ― Monica Bell

97. “Learning to stand on your own feet comes by making right decisions and by overcoming mistakes.” ― Robert Mitchell

98. “Recognise your own shortcomings and be prepared to learn quickly, including from your mistakes. If you don’t jump into the deep end at some point, you will never learn to swim.” ― George Ilian

99. “The moment we learn to forgive ourselves for mistakes and look forward is the moment when we will better manage our emotional state.” ― Nicole Smith

100. “Your ability to understand and direct kindness over yourself over failures and mistakes is an important matter.” ― Mia Conrad

Mistake Quotes to Embrace Growth

101. “Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past.” ― Tryon Edwards

102. “We live in an era when rapid change breeds fear, and fear too often congeals us into a rigidity which we mistake for stability.” ― Lynn Townsend White, Jr.

103. “A series of failures may culminate in the best possible result.” ― Gisela Richter

104. “True justice is to pay one time for every mistake we make.” ― Miguel Angel Ruiz

105. “You learn your lessons from the mistakes you make, not the things you achieve.” ― Katherine Jenkins

106. You miss a lot of opportunities by making mistakes, but that’s part of it: knowing that you’re not shut out forever, and that there’s a goal you still can reach.” ― Johnny Cash

107. “I learn from my mistakes.  It’s a very painful way to learn, but without pain, the old saying is, there’s no gain.” ― Johnny Cash

108. “It’d be a shame to stop now that I’ve started to make really good mistakes.” ― Sara Bareilles 

109. “You’ve committed no sins, just mistakes.” ― Marianne Williamson

110. “I’ve had those relationships, and you have to make those mistakes to find out what we really want.” ― Alexandra Daddario

Mistakes Quotes About the Art of Second Chances

111. “So next time someone complains that you have made a mistake, tell him that may be a good thing. Because without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist.” ― Stephen Hawking

112. Failure is a great teacher and, if you are open to it, every mistake has a lesson to offer.” ― Oprah Winfrey

113. I love any time you can enlighten people to mistakes, that’s how I started my career.” ― Ice Cube

114. “You’ve traveled this far on the back of every mistake.” ― Dorianne Laux

115. “Progress is impossible without the ability to admit mistakes.” ― Masaaki Imai

116. “You’re not useful to me until you’ve made three momentous mistakes.” ― Dan Wieden

117. “Respect yourself. Try to remember that not everything in life can be perfect. You will make mistakes. That’s inevitable. But you are not ugly. You will only be ugly when you behave in an ugly way.” ― Pete Townshend

118. “No mistake or failure is as bad as to stop and not try again.” ― John Wanamaker

119. “Justice is justice though it’s always delayed and finally done only by mistake.” ― George Bernard Shaw

120. “The decision to give an indicative date for a return is a mistake. It degrades the process. It degrades human life.” ― David Trimble

Mistake Quotes for Personal Growth

121. “We are not perfect. We make mistakes. We screw up but then we forgive and move forward.” ― Nicholas Sparks

122. “I don’t think it’s weak to admit you made a mistake. That takes strength, if you ask me.” ― Terry Pratchett

123. “Everyone makes mistakes, but only a person with integrity owns up to them.” ― Nicole Guillaume

124. “You are more than the choices that you make, You are more than the sum of your past mistakes, You are more than the problems you create.” ― Tenth Avenue North

125. “Refuse to give up, your mistakes don’t define you. They don’t dictate where you’re headed, they remind you.” ― T.I. Harris

126. “We all have to face our faults and mistakes, and then choose to overcome them or let them drag us down.” ― Jessica Lave

127. “A moment of brilliance is not good enough to pay for your mistakes, it’s taking responsibility.” ― Mohamed Mohamed Adel

128. “It’s not our mistakes that define us. It’s the lessons we learn that show our true character.” ― Cassia Leo

129. “Recognising our own mistakes helps us to empathise non-judgementally with others and helps enable us to understand their issues.” ― Jay Woodman

130. “You’ll never avoid every mistake. All you can do is try to do your best and live with the consequences.” ― K. Martin Beckner

Mistake Quotes to Embrace Imperfection

131. “I guess we’re all composed of a lot of mistakes; we just have to figure out how to take our mistakes and make something good out of them.” ― K. Martin Beckner

132. “Screwing up is hardly a major mistake. Sometimes your wrong choices bring you to the right places.” ― Shannon L. Alder

133. “I am full of mistakes and imperfections and therefore I am real …” ― Shaun Hick

134. “I know I can’t change the past. Not my mistakes or the mistakes of others. But I can begin by changing me.” ― Mary Alice Monroe

135. “When we grow up we all will understand that we have made mistakes which we are not proud of, but some of those are worth committing all.” ― M.F. Moonzajer

136. “I only accept your mistakes and flaws to the degree that I accept my own.” ― Vironika Tugaleva

137. “Turn a major mistake into a master mentor, learn from it.” ― Stella Payton

138. “Forgiving ourselves and learning from our inevitable mistakes transforms failure from a stumbling block into a stepping stone.” ― L.R. Knost

139. “We all have the potential to do terrible things. But we also have the potential to overcome our mistakes.” ― Veronica Rossi

140. “One of the biggest mistakes executives make is thinking they can steamroll diversity and inclusion initiatives.” — Serilda Summers-McGee

141. “People who work for a living make mistakes. Always remember this. People who pride themselves on making no decisions or any mistakes probably are not very valuable to you.” — Steven Rosenthal

142. “Don’t put other people down – a big mistake that a lot of opinionated people make is always putting those around them down.” — Emma Jones

143. “Honesty and maturity are two key factors that separate those people who can successfully change their lives and those who are destined to continually repeat the same mistakes over and over again.” — Sarah Devnil

144. “Holding a mistake over someone’s head does not rehabilitate them.” — E’yen A.Gardner

145. “Despite the best of intentions, nonprofits will make mistakes, and those mistakes can cause harm to clients or participants.” — Mario Morino

146. “One of the most common mistakes individuals make is attempting to cram in so many “relaxing” activities that they only become more stressed and exhausted.” — Jamaal Watson

147. “Mistakes are a sign of trying, and it is always better to try and fail than to fail to try.” — Robert Washington

148. “So what if you make mistakes? That’s what it means to be human and that’s how you learn to become better.” — Amy Pendergrass

149. “We make our mistakes, we fall yet we learn something new and we rise again. That’s the design of humanity, this is our destiny.” — Angelina Talpa

Did you learn from these mistake quotes?

The successful people are not those who never make mistakes but rather those who learn from their mistakes and failures.

So instead of beating yourself up, own your mistakes and start thinking about how you can gain from them.

The ability to learn from your mistakes and make better decisions is key to being the person you want to be and creating the life you want to have in the future.

Hopefully, the quotes above will help you make good decisions for your goals and dreams.

If you found these quotes helpful, you should also check out our misunderstanding quotes.

Which of these mistake quotes resonated with you best?

Do you have any other inspirational quotes to add?

Let us know in the comment section below.

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