4 Mistakes Youre Allowed to Make in Your Career - The Muse

4 Mistakes Youre Allowed to Make in Your Career - The Muse4 Mistakes Youre Allowed to Make in Your CareerYou know the term rookie mistake and you know that when youre new at something, youll stumble and fall a few times as you learn. But, the permission to make mistakes in the name of learning fades away as you gain mora experience. You move into the category where youre supposed to know better. And while yes, getting it right is always a good goal there are four mistakes youre allowed to make no matter how much experience you have. 1. Caring Too MuchYou know its important to make time for your life outside the office. And ideally, as you grow in your career, youll get better at achieving work-life balance (or integration).But, you might hit a moment in your career when you cant leave at 5 PM or really leave work at work at all. Your time- and thoughts- are consumed by your job.Maybe its helping you cope with a tough time. Or maybe putting in those extra hours is whats needed to brin g your company- or your career trajectory- to the next level. For whatever reason, youve consciously chosen to make work the 1 priority in your life.Back-burnering the rest of your life isnt ideal and without a doubt, it isnt sustainable, either. But its not always the wrong thing to do. If theres a clear finish line- and a clear payoff- then pouring yourself into your work may be a mistake worth making (even if you know better).2. Trying Something Bold (and Failing)With experience comes a sense of your strengths and weaknesses. You have a pretty good idea of how you work best and how to manage whats on your plate so you can be successful.But if you keep following the same, proven formula, you could end up trapped in your comfort zone. Growth is uncomfortable, and challenging yourself means you may make a mistake- and even fail but youll also never know just what you achieve unless you push yourself. So, the next time youre about to do something the way youve always done it consider how you might approach it differently. You dont have to change every routine and build in inefficiencies for the sake of saying you tried something new, but do encourage yourself to take a risk.3. Blowing Off Your Five-Year PlanFive-year plans can be really clarifying. In fact, picturing where youd like to be in five years can help you if youre not exactly sure what to do next in your career.And while it may seem like a mistake to change course (or, careers) mid-stream, sometimes, its the very best thing for you. Maybe it took you some time to realize you didnt just need a new job, but youd actually like to change industries. Or, maybe youve been putting off launching a side gig, or even going on sabbatical. It could be that taking steps toward your new goal means youll miss the mark on your earlier ones.Thats OK. It may take you longer to achieve your new definition of success, but you know youll be happier when you get there. 4. Putting Your Faith in OthersEspecially if youve bee n burned by a teammate who didnt pull their weight, it can seem like a mistake to hand over the reins ever again. Maybe youre gun-shy about delegating after things werent done to specifications. Or maybe you leistungspunkt your ascent to going it alone, or you just thrive on working independently.In any of these scenarios, depending on others can feels more like a horrible idea than a leap of faith. After all, you cant control what might happen with a project you dont wholly own.But, as a reminder, thats actually a good thing. People think and work differently, but thats a benefit (hence the term strength in numbers). The fact that a project wont completely stall because you need a sick day is a good thing. Being able to step away from your computer (ever) is a good thing. Learning from others and following someone elses good ideas- and even, on occasion, following a less-efficient idea and see that the department doesnt crumble to the ground- these are all good things.As humans, we re bound to make mistakes. And while trying to avoid them is a good goal, a better one is to stop viewing all mistakes as a complete failure, and vow to learn from them instead.