One of the first things that popped into my head this morning when I woke up was: "Oh, no! I forgot to post on the blog yesterday!" Now that this has become a daily thing, I was quite upset that, in spite of remembering several times throughout the day at moments when I could not sit down and write, I ultimately was tired last night and forgot to post. I was still pretty tired when I realized what had happened this morning, not to mention the dampening effect that my new realization had on my positive energy, so I went back to sleep. A couple of hours later I finally felt rested enough to face the day and how I would deal with my slip-up.
I began to think about it and quickly remembered that this blog is something that I started for me, to help me with my search. Obviously I want it to help others as well, or else it would just be a journal. In a selfish sort of way, having readers gives me more incentive to write every day. You are my accountability. Next, I remembered that I've been fighting some sort of bug for the past few days, which has drained me of some of my normal energy. In my mind, being sick definitely qualifies as a good reason for a little slip-up. Then, I realized that it would be quite easy to decide how to react to my mistake as I only really had two options. I could accept that I forgot to write yesterday and learn something from it (which conveniently gave me something to write about in today's post), or I could let one little slip-up discourage me from writing today's post and turn into an even bigger setback than it needed to be.
As you can see, I opted to minimize the effect of the mistake, and now I think I uncovered a new tactic to put into my dream-seeking toolbox. Now I know that if I make a mistake or have a setback, usually it will be much easier to put it into perspective and learn a valuable lesson from it than to let it get me down and discourage me from continuing on my quest. I also learned that most mistakes are not the end of the world, it is only our expectations of ourselves that cause us to blow them out of proportion and act as though they are much more serious than they need to be.
We feel that we shouldn't make mistakes now that we are adults, when the truth is that without mistakes, there is no growth. You cannot strive for anything new without the risk of messing something up along the way. Can you imagine if birds just gave up trying to flap their wings when they fall to the ground on their first attempt at flight? Can you imagine how modern medicine might have developed differently if Alexander Fleming had taken care of his petri dishes in a way that would have prevented the penicillin mold from mistakenly growing in one of them? And can you imagine what effect it would have had if he had just cleaned the dishes immediately instead of paying closer attention to notice the effect that the mold had? Mistakes are a part of every being's existence, save for God's. It is in our nature and it is something that we can allow to discourage us or allow to encourage us. A mistake is an opportunity for learning and it is a reminder that we are growing.
What are your thoughts? Do you experience the same sort of self-judgment when you make a mistake, whether it is big or small? How do you deal with setbacks?
I hope the sun is shining as brightly where you are as it is for me today, and I look forward to reading your comments!
I began to think about it and quickly remembered that this blog is something that I started for me, to help me with my search. Obviously I want it to help others as well, or else it would just be a journal. In a selfish sort of way, having readers gives me more incentive to write every day. You are my accountability. Next, I remembered that I've been fighting some sort of bug for the past few days, which has drained me of some of my normal energy. In my mind, being sick definitely qualifies as a good reason for a little slip-up. Then, I realized that it would be quite easy to decide how to react to my mistake as I only really had two options. I could accept that I forgot to write yesterday and learn something from it (which conveniently gave me something to write about in today's post), or I could let one little slip-up discourage me from writing today's post and turn into an even bigger setback than it needed to be.
As you can see, I opted to minimize the effect of the mistake, and now I think I uncovered a new tactic to put into my dream-seeking toolbox. Now I know that if I make a mistake or have a setback, usually it will be much easier to put it into perspective and learn a valuable lesson from it than to let it get me down and discourage me from continuing on my quest. I also learned that most mistakes are not the end of the world, it is only our expectations of ourselves that cause us to blow them out of proportion and act as though they are much more serious than they need to be.
We feel that we shouldn't make mistakes now that we are adults, when the truth is that without mistakes, there is no growth. You cannot strive for anything new without the risk of messing something up along the way. Can you imagine if birds just gave up trying to flap their wings when they fall to the ground on their first attempt at flight? Can you imagine how modern medicine might have developed differently if Alexander Fleming had taken care of his petri dishes in a way that would have prevented the penicillin mold from mistakenly growing in one of them? And can you imagine what effect it would have had if he had just cleaned the dishes immediately instead of paying closer attention to notice the effect that the mold had? Mistakes are a part of every being's existence, save for God's. It is in our nature and it is something that we can allow to discourage us or allow to encourage us. A mistake is an opportunity for learning and it is a reminder that we are growing.
What are your thoughts? Do you experience the same sort of self-judgment when you make a mistake, whether it is big or small? How do you deal with setbacks?
I hope the sun is shining as brightly where you are as it is for me today, and I look forward to reading your comments!
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