I just noticed that the couch next to me is wet. Why? Because I laid my water bottle there. I made sure the spout was closed before I laid it down. But … I made a mistake … the cap was slightly unscrewed. So, it’s been dripping water for the past hour. Half a liter. Joy.
No matter how well you plan, how much you anticipate, how perfectly you know exactly what you are doing and have shown yourself to have competence in many areas of your life … you will screw up.
Sometimes it will be small, like a wet sofa cushion. Sometimes it will be a spectacular face-plant like getting yourself fired. Mistakes will always be there in one form or another.
But there is one thing in common with all mistakes. They are all learning moments. Mistakes (and recovery from mistakes) are full of valuable information.
Don’t turn away from your mistakes in shame and hide from them. Lean into them. Use them as springboards for moving forward.
(And a wet couch cushion is a perfect time to take off the cover, wash it, and vacuum the crumbs from underneath.)
What have you screwed up recently and what did it teach you?
