Strong Enough to Be Wrong: Confidence in the Face of Mistakes

Before you even ask… yes, the website got a makeover

You know what’s wild? The hardest part about being wrong isn’t actually being wrong. It’s admitting you’re wrong without your entire sense of self imploding like a poorly constructed IKEA bookshelf.

You agreeing cause…. You know

Hey again, it’s Jin – your friendly neighborhood psychosocial therapist who recently closed out an existential crisis series and learned that expertise doesn’t make you immune to needing help. This week we’ve been talking about being spectacularly, publicly, and sometimes embarrassingly wrong about things. And somehow surviving it with dignity mostly intact.

Day three of my recent existential crisis series: I’m confidently explaining to someone how their anxiety medication works, dropping knowledge like some kind of pharmacological DJ.

Plot twist: I was completely, embarrassingly, spectacularly wrong. Like girl who told you that you knew something about some medicine, you don’t even play a doctor on instagram please ma’am please.

Chile please.

The nurse who overheard this masterpiece just walked over and said, “Actually, that’s not how that works at all,” and proceeded to correct me while I reconsidered every life choice.

Old Jin would have either doubled down, disappeared into the floor tiles, or made up elaborate excuses. But something beautiful happened instead. I said, “You’re absolutely right. I have no idea what I’m talking about when it comes to that medication. Thank you for the correction.”

And then… nothing exploded. The earth kept spinning. My therapist license didn’t combust.

Here’s the thing nobody tells you: being wrong is actually a confidence builder, not destroyer. But only if you resist treating every mistake like evidence you’re a fraud who should hide under a rock forever.

The Shame Spiral vs. The Learning Loop

Shame tells you that making a mistake means you ARE a mistake. Learning tells you that making a mistake means you’re human and probably just gained useful information.

Shame says: “You were wrong, which means you don’t know anything, which means you’re terrible at everything.”

Deep breath

Learning says: “You were wrong. Good thing someone corrected you. Mental note: stick to your expertise and maybe Google things first.”

I started volunteering my mistakes. If I misunderstood something in group, I’d raise my hand and say, “Wait, I think I completely missed the point. Can someone explain that again?” Revolutionary concept: asking for clarification when you’re confused instead of pretending you understand everything. It’s a game changer.

Mistakes as Data Points (Not Character Assassination)

The shift happened when I stopped treating mistakes like character evidence and started treating them like data points. Wrong about medication effects? Data point: That was never your business, so mind your business. Walked into wrong therapy group? Data point: pay attention to room numbers.

Each mistake became information rather than confirmation that I was fundamentally flawed.

The Bottom Line

Confidence isn’t about never being wrong. It’s about being wrong with grace, learning from it, and not letting it destroy your sense of self-worth. Your value doesn’t decrease when you mess up. Your expertise doesn’t become invalid because you had a knowledge gap.

You’re allowed to be wrong. You’re allowed to change your mind. You’re allowed to say, “I have no idea what I’m talking about” and still be a competent adult human being.

So mess up. Be incorrect. Get things spectacularly wrong sometimes. And then just… be human about it.

I don’t like calling myself a professional mistake maker even if I am good at making mistakes, but I digress… the point is, you can trust me on this one.

Making mistakes doesn’t make you weak. Refusing to admit them does. And sometimes the most confident thing you can say is “I was completely wrong about that.”

Follow me on Instagram @baldheadedbusiness and check out the Zen Den with Jin.

And if this resonates with you, consider taking it a step deeper. As a Zen Garden member, you can schedule a personalized meditation recording tailored specifically to your brand of beautiful life this season. Because sometimes you need someone to create a meditation that actually speaks to YOUR specific way of being human.

Ready to turn your mistakes into mindfulness? Let’s create something just for you.

Until next time… stay confidently wrong when necessary.

Peace ✌🏾