I stubbed my toe the other day and, damn, it hurt.  For minutes, I raged at the pain, telling myself how stupid I was.  My bed covers covered the caster for the bed frame and I really caught my toe, almost breaking it.  In my discomfort and anger, I made the bed.  That morning, the room was perfect for my wife, she didn’t repeat my mistake.  She didn’t have to contend with the hidden trap of my blanket.  I now make the bed after I get up. In a way, I was glad I made that mistake.  It taught me a valuable lesson and gave me a jolt to remember it.

I can’t say I actually enjoy making mistakes.  I don’t purposely screw up; my personality is too focused on positive work to worry about failure.  I also don’t stop trying until the task is completed - that is just my way.  The universe, unfortunately, is not designed that way.  Darkness must exist for light to exist, and evil creates space for good.  Success and failure are outcomes that are far beyond your control.  Effort is the only thing you control, and that never guarantees victory.  More than that, the knowledge and experience gained from failure is invaluable.  It guides and informs future decisions, but doesn’t control them.  The art of failure is the brilliant ability to learn and refocus your efforts. 

Do I gladly make mistakes? No, but I refuse to lose quietly! I will take every bit of knowledge and experience from the event.  I gladly take it because I will use it.  It will inspire a greater dedication to work and increased focus.  Winning takes being available to win and that takes being in the fight and lasting longer than everyone else.  It takes complete dedication and an understanding that a fit body and mind are necessary to deliver a consistent high level of performance.  Still, success and failure are controlled by the Universe and you are a part of that flow.  To be in the flow, mindless mindfulness, is the ultimate goal - winning is just a condition that happens at the end.

The importance of laughing at yourself is another reason that mistakes are glad occurrences.  Life is funny.  You must learn to laugh at the times to goof.  Yes, you just broke that glass, but no one’s hurt, and you missed catching it several times: that’s funny! So, you have to clean up. Yeah that’s a bitch, but it’s just a thing, not a big deal.  And next time, either buy plastic or accept that accidents will happen and move on.  Not glad, but glad that the small mistake might help prevent the big whopper of a mistake next time.  We must learn to be glad about mistakes that we walk away from because many mistakes are fatal.  Gladly I clip the car in front of me as I am parking. I’m not the driver I used to be, and I need reminders that I am not.  I didn’t hurt anyone, and no major damage was done.  And the worst part - I was in a rush! Life teaches, but it’s your choice to learn.  Now I’m laughing about it, the old “chicken without his head” syndrome.  Mistakes reminds us to get it together!

I hope this blog isn’t a mistake, but if it is, then I will be determined to learn from that.  The Universe makes no mistakes, and all outcomes are possible even though some are not probable.  That means I am perfect, and life is about opposites and contrast.  Celebrate your victories, revel in your glory, and share the honor with those around you.  No victory is preordained so treat each one with reverence and respect, and each failure as a chance to grow and become more powerful. 

Gladly make mistakes! You do it anyway!