" The word 'Mistake' has no absolute meaning. It has a relative sense. Some may call it a mistake, others see it an opportunity to improve and excel. Everyone commits a mistake. Otherwise one cannot find the right option. The only thing one must not repeat it. Whenever one commits a mistake, he or she must own it, instead of running from the situation and must find out the reason why it happened.
(Courtesy: Inc.com)
One of the important things that one must never do in life is neither to underestimate nor overestimate oneself. One must know himself/herself well. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Instead of focusing elsewhere, one must work on improving the former and diminishing the latter.
As I have often said that every individual is talented. Every person has 'Aptitude'(intellect). Now looking into your 'Aptitude' and your 'Attitude'(interest), you must find your own 'Altitude'. All altitudes may not be at equal level but all altitudes are important.
One of the biggest mistake that a person does is not to make the goal clear. Without self-discipline, one cannot set clear and realistic goals. So one has to be tougher on oneself. Then only it can dream as high as possible. but realistically. The tougher you are now on yourself, the easier life will be on you later on. Person suffer when it did not properly introspect and just follows the crowd. We need to remember that not every child can become a doctor or an engineer or a management executive. Life sometimes sends inevitable curves. But we should not be distracted by this. We need to remain in 'Focus', 'Firm' and 'Fair'( 3 good F).
So most importantly, belief in yourself and succumb to neither peer pressure nor parental pressure. Respect your parent's aspiration but then one has to look into one's passion. Remember all subjects and all careers have huge scope and opportunity in today's globalized world. If the 20th century belonged to science, the 21st century will be belonging to humanities.
So to conclude, one must reflect and do introspection. Find out the areas which interest you and try to identify your talents. Once you have identified the goal, take a small step daily and regularly towards your goal. With each step, you will gain momentum and with consistency, you will have necessary acceleration and will be cross the finishing line before you actually realize it. Taking small steps daily is important. No point in taking a long leap without your rear leg firmly on the ground. You will then befall flat."