31 Mistakes I’ve Learned From – So I Can Make New Ones
We all make mistakes – it’s life, we’re human, that’s why they invented spell check and erasers. The crux of mistakes is whether we let those mistakes torture us, keep us up at night, hold us back or stop us from growing.
A good use of mistakes is learning from them. When I was a team manager, our team mantra was:
‘Make New Mistakes’
Because it’s okay to make a mistake, you just don’t want to keep making the same one. (That’s called a pattern, babe.)
One more time for the cheap seats at the back: we ALL make mistakes (even Béyonce) – these are 31 of mine. (I’ve let go of just about all of them – except #5. Still torturing myself over that Snail Project.)
Ignoring my intuition – I regret it Every. Damn. Time.
Not acting on my gut instincts.
Trying to tan as a teenager. (I’m too white, it was never going to happen – now I just have sun damage that’s likely to start appearing in 4-6 years.)
Not listening to my mum and saving more money.
Not listening to my mum about my year 4 Snail Project.
Making decisions out of fear.
Staying, when I should have gone.
Leaving, when I should have stayed.
Waiting too long to go to therapy.
Saying ‘should’ too much.
Stressing myself out by imagining scenarios that hadn’t — and didn’t — happen. (That’s anxiety, sis.)
Being too scared to admit I was depressed.
Letting someone else tell me how I was feeling. (Only YOU know how you feel – NO ONE ELSE.)
Letting someone else tell me I’m too emotional/overreacting/dramatic/etc.
Working, instead of attending family events. (I HATE not being in the photos.)
Throwing out a dress I loved even though I wouldn’t wear it anymore because for some strange reason I thought I had to.
Getting rid of my CD and DVD collection (luckily I kept the classics – Spice Girls and Love Actually.)
Going long periods without writing.
Throwing out my teenage diaries. (At 21, I was mortified. At 31, I think I’d see the funny side.)
Saying some super, duper white-privilege things. I’m embarrassed, ashamed and mortified. I vow to do and be better.
Talking over someone who needed to be listened to.
Letting people talk over me.
Allowing my anger to make decisions.
Not asking for more money.
Being embarrassed about who I am and where I come from.
Hurting someone because I was hurt.
Ever being unkind to my wonderful parents. (And all the worry I caused them when I should have just remembered to text them to say I was staying out late.)
Not doing things because it wasn’t ‘cool’.
Asking the wrong people for advice.
Not appreciating how young and fit (and flawless my skin) was at the time.
Trying to be perfect, when all along I was enough.
