Lessons learned from Christina Aguilera's Super Bowl Mistake

Have you ever wondered why more people have a fear of public speaking than of dying? The reason is simple. They don’t want to be in the position Christina Aguilera found herself in yesterday as she sang the national anthem at the Super Bowl. In front of millions of people she messed up part of the ever-important national anthem, switching out the line “O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming” with her own creation of “What so proudly we watched, at the twilight’s last gleaming.” And people have been talking about it ever since.

Aguilera apologized, saying, “I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through.” And she isn’t the only one to have ever forgotten the words or messed them up, by the way. Macy Gray and Mike Eli have done the same.

Her upcoming gigs have not been cancelled. Aguilera will apparently sing at the Grammys this Sunday alongside Jennifer Hudson. I’m sure she will walking in looking fabulous and carrying her head high.

So, what can we learn from Aguilera’s mistake? No…not that we should never get up and speak or sing in public. The world has continued spinning. In fact, Aguilera’s world has continued spinning.

So, here are the lessons:

1. Mistakes happen to the best of us. Usually someone else has made the same mistake. The moment is embarrassing, but it passes. Take a deep breath and wait…
2. Admit your mistake and apologize. Be honest and genuine. People will forgive you. We all make mistakes. It’s not the end of the world.
3. Roll with the punches. Good performers know how to cover their mistakes. Although everyone knew she had messed up the words to the national anthem, Aguilera didn’t stop mid-song and try to figure out the words she had forgotten. She kept singing. She made up some words. Or, if she simply sang the wrong words, she didn’t stop afterwards and say, “Oops. I made a mistake. Let me start again.” She just kept singing. That’s the sign of a pro.
4. Life goes on. People will talk. People love to gossip and discuss other people’s mistakes. It makes them feel better about themselves. It doesn’t make you less of who you are. Find a way to make even the bad situations into good ones. Keep moving forward. It won’t be long before everyone will forget what happened and things will return to normal.

When we get up and speak or sing–or do anything–in public mistakes happen. Be prepared for them. Know how to handle them like a pro. Then you won’t stop yourself from ever fulfilling your dreams of being a singer, speaker or leader.

Most of all, remember that we learn from our mistakes…and from the mistakes of others. Your public mistakes may be just what someone else needs to learn an  important lesson.