Some of the gifts of mistakes….
I can learn from mistakes. In an obvious and conventional sense, I may learn how to prevent or reduce the chances for similar mistakes in the future. Mistakes also gives me experience I would otherwise not have had, and I can learn from these too.
They are humbling. I make mistakes, just as everyone else. I get to see that I don’t fully know the consequences of my actions. I change how I look at certain situations. And we are all in the same boat here. The more I recognize this (see, feel, find appreciation for), the more empathy there is for myself and others.
Mistakes open up something new for me. They set me on a different course than I intended, which gives me experiences and opportunities I otherwise would have missed. They enrich my life and get me out of my comfort zone. The new terrain and possibilities may appear undesirable from my habitual view, or they may appear desirable and even better than what I had intended. And if I am receptive, how I view it will become fuller and richer as well.
I get to see something about how my mind works. I see what happens when I have beliefs about the world, and the world does something different. I have an opportunity to find what is more honest for me than these beliefs, to find a richer set of stories and recognize that each of them are just tools for navigating the world. There is no inherent or absolute truth in any of them.
I get to see that mistakes are only mistakes from a certain perspective. I have an idea of how things should be, I act in a way that creates other consequences, and call it a mistake. When I explore it further, I find many ways it was not a mistake, even from my familiar viewpoints. And I also see that these are all stories. Useful at times, yes, but still stories with no absolute truth in them.
I see how every choice and action has infinite causes. I can find causes from family patterns, culture, immediate circumstances, my own beliefs, evolution and so on. And always one more, and one more. In that sense, it is impersonal, innocent, and we are all in the same boat.
I get to see what happens when I don’t take full responsibility for my own choices and actions. I blame myself, others, or life. I complain to myself or others. I experience stress. The situation bothers me. Attention may return to it over and over.
And I get to see what happens when I take full responsibility for my own choices and actions, or more accurately set the intention for taking full responsibility, move in that direction, and deepen into it. There is a sense of relief. Release. Clarity. A sense of coming home.
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- the gifts of mistakes
- learn from – prevent similar mistakes in the future
- humbling – embrace our humanity more in its fullness, include identity as someone who makes mistakes
- opens up new terrain for us, new possibilities – enriches life, get out of comfort zone
- get to see your own patterns, beliefs, how your mind works
- ….
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Some of the gifts of mistakes….
I can learn from them. I can learn how to prevent similar mistakes in the future. I get experiences I otherwise would not have had, which I can learn from.
They are humbling. Mistakes are opportunities to embrace my humanity more in its fullness, including the identity as someone who makes mistakes, who is fallible, who do not always know the consequences of my choices and actions.
Mistakes open up a new terrain for me, new possibilities. They allow me to enter a terrain I otherwise would not have encountered. They offer new possibilities that wouldn’t have been here otherwise. They enrich my life and get me out of my comfort zone.
I get to see my own patterns, beliefs, and how my mind works.
……..
I can learn from mistakes. I can learn how to prevent or reduce the chances for similar mistakes in the future. I also get experiences I otherwise would not have had, which I can learn from.
They are humbling. Mistakes are opportunities to embrace my humanity more in its fullness, including the identity as someone who makes mistakes, who is fallible, who do not always know the consequences of my choices and actions. This also opens up for empathy with others, and more of a sense that we are all in the same boat.
Mistakes open up a new terrain and new possibilities for me. They set me on a different course than what I intended, which gives me experiences and opportunities I otherwise would have missed. They enrich my life and get me out of my comfort zone. The new terrain and possibilities may appear undesirable from my habitual view, or they may appear desirable and even better than what I had intended. And if I am receptive, they will change and enrich my views and perspectives.
I get to see my own patterns and beliefs, and how my mind works. I get to see what happens when I have beliefs about the world, and the world does something differently. I have an opportunity to find what is more honest for me than these beliefs, to find a richer set of stories and recognize that each of them are just tools for navigating the world. There is no inherent or absolute truth in any of them.