What Is Your Name When You Make A Mistake?

From the moment we are born, we are given a name — a name that holds meaning, identity, and a sense of belonging. It is spoken with love by our parents, written in official records, and carried with us through every stage of life. Our name is who we are.

But have you ever noticed that the moment you make a mistake, your name seems to change?

Suddenly, we are no longer us. Instead, we become the failure, the disappointment, the fool. The people around us no longer call us by the name that once carried warmth. Instead, they replace it with words laced with judgment, sarcasm, or ridicule.

“Oh, look who finally decided to use their brain.”

“Classic you — always messing things up.”

“What else should we expect from a disappointment like you?”

And maybe they say it as a joke. Maybe they don’t mean any harm. But you hear it. You feel it. And eventually, you start to believe it.

At first, you tell yourself it’s just words. But the more you hear it, the heavier it becomes.

The labels stick. They follow you. They echo in your mind long after everyone else has forgotten. You begin to carry those names as if they belong to you. You start introducing yourself not with your real name, but with the mistakes you’ve made. “I’m the one who failed.” “I’m the one who let everyone down.” “I’m the one who always ruins things.”

But tell me, is that really who you are?

Should one wrong choice erase all the times you chose correctly? Should one flaw define your entire existence?

No.

Because your name is not the mistake you made.

You are not “the failure,” not “the embarrassment,” not “the disappointment.” You are more than the worst thing you have ever done. You are the lessons you have learned, the strength you have built, the resilience that pushes you to keep going.

The world may try to rename you when you fall. It may try to convince you that you are nothing more than your errors. But the truth is, your name has never changed. It has been yours from the beginning, and no mistake — no matter how big — can take it away from you.

So the next time they call you by a name that isn’t yours, don’t answer it. Don’t carry it. Don’t let it define you.

Instead, remind yourself who you really are.

You are the same person who has survived every challenge life has thrown at you. You are the same person who has made people smile, who has loved, who has tried, who has grown. You are the same person who has gotten back up every time you’ve fallen. You are the person who learned from your mistakes.

Your mistakes are not your identity. They are not the summary of your worth.

So say your name — your real name. Say it with pride. Say it with strength. Say it with the knowledge that no mistake, no failure, no harsh words from others can ever take it away from you.

Because you are more.

And you always have been.