Accepting Your Mistakes; In Writing And In Life

Disclaimer: Model is just acting bummed.

Making mistakes is an inevitable part of life. There is not one person who doesn't make them.

Sometimes the blunders are tiny inconsequential blips that we easily brush off like eraser remnants from on a page. You continue writing and you do not think twice about it. 

Make larger ones, however, and we berate ourselves, worry if we are up to the task and sometimes even give up.

Inspiration came to me the other day as I was driving. At the time, I was observing a tiny volkswagen that had come to a complete stop in a huge merging lane. 

There were about five other cars behind the car. The others were no doubt feeling the same as I did, that this car stopping was highly unnecessary, perhaps even dangerous.

While the driver of the car in question was probably afraid of getting into an accident, he/she was putting themselves in another kind of danger. There was a big possibility of a collision from behind. 

It is the same in writing and in life, we shouldn't stop doing what we love because we are afraid to make a mistake, or because we have made a mistake in the past. We need to keep going, make adjustments and learn from past errors. We shouldn't stop. 

We have an undeniable tool at our disposal when we experience difficult times. 

We learn the skill of bouncing back, of accepting that we screwed up when something isn't exactly as we hoped it would be. 
                                                                                           

Photo Credit


We point it out to ourselves with razor-like precision, we fix it and move on.  

I have a friend who applied three times to a veterinary school. It was a very competitive application and interview process and twice he did not make the final cut. The third time was the charm.

He never gave up. He is now practicing in his chosen field. I find great inspiration in that. You see, sometimes we can be our worst enemies or our strongest advocates. Keep trying. Believe in your best selves. 

We all have the tenacity to achieve at high levels, and we all have the potential to soar. Sometimes those attributes are just hiding around the corner of a properly utilized mistake.