Learning from Mistakes

A mistake that taught me a lasting lesson happened during my first year at university. I’d been elected to organise a cultural festival for international students — around five hundred guests, performances, food from twenty countries. I was enthusiastic and, frankly, overconfident. My mistake was trying to do almost everything myself. I believed that delegating would take longer than doing things personally, and I didn’t entirely trust others to meet my standards. For weeks, I worked late into the night, handling bookings, budgets and publicity alone, while several willing volunteers were left with little to do. The consequences became clear a week before the event. I fell ill with exhaustion, and because nobody else knew the details — which suppliers had been paid, what time performers were arriving — the preparations nearly collapsed. In the end, the festival went ahead, thanks to volunteers who worked frantically to piece everything together, but it was chaotic, and two performances were cancelled. The lesson I learned was about the difference between responsibility and control. Being responsible for something doesn’t mean doing it all yourself; it means making sure it gets done well, which often requires trusting other people and sharing information. I also learned that refusing to delegate can be a form of arrogance disguised as dedication. Since then, I’ve made a deliberate effort to involve others early, document my work, and accept that someone else’s approach may be different but equally valid. Ironically, I’m now often praised for being a good team leader, which I owe largely to that failure.

Xato → sabab (o‘z-o‘zini tanqid) → oqibatlar → saboq: mas’uliyat va nazorat farqi → keyingi hayotda qo‘llash (ironiya).