How to Make Mistakes and Be Happy About It

I’ve lived my life by making one mistake after another. From errors in grammar and vocabulary when I was first learning the languages I had to learn while we immigrated to social faux pas because I didn’t know the customs in my new country, I’ve made plenty of mistakes.

For a long time, I dreaded them. Partially, it was because mistakes meant punishment. And punishment in my family would have been severe. Have you ever heard that meme, “The beatings will continue until morale improves?” In my house, the beatings just continued. And you didn’t have to do anything to engender them. But if you made a mistake? Things deteriorated big time.

So, it took me a long time to learn how to make mistakes and not feel terrible about it. I endured teasing, beatings, mocking, you name it. Further, I took each of those insults to heart, as if I were supposed to be perfect. And you know what? I wasn’t supposed to be perfect. None of us is supposed to be perfect. Ever!

Imagine Making Mistakes and Laughing About It

We’re supposed to learn, and you can’t learn without making mistakes. So, here’s a visualization to help you get better at making errors. Take a few deep breaths. Close your eyes and remember the last time you went bowling. Were there any kids there playing with the guard rails up? You know the ones. They’re there to make sure kids get their balls down the lane. If you’ve never been, watch the video below to see what I mean.

Look at it like you’re a bowling ball being thrown by a five-year-old. You know how they put up those guard rail so kids can get the ball down the lane if they throw it even a little? Well, that’s what my life is. I careen from one side to the other, but the guard rails are there and every time I hit a guardrail that’s me making a mistake. But somehow I’m going in the right direction. See if you can approach making mistakes in that spirit. You try new things. You strive. Inherent to that is making mistakes. Treat each new mistakes as hitting the rails. See how much fun you can have as you keep watching that ball going down the lane even if it had to take a little longer to get there.

Be the bowling ball. Hit the sides, but always remember, you’re on the right track.

❤️