March
7
Messiness, Mistakes & Grace
I’m a teacher. I encourage mistakes. I tell my students, “In this classroom, mistakes is when the learning takes place.” I encourage the messiness of learning and writing. We celebrate it.
So here’s my question…why am I so hard on myself when I make a mistake? I made a mistake tonight. It’s a small one. Nothing huge. I forgot to do something. I’ll have time to get it done. No crisis. No harm was done. Yet, I can’t let it go.
My mind is gnawing on it like a dog gnaws on a bone. I keep wondering how I forgot and chastising myself for being so careless. My self-talk right now is not pretty, yet I can’t make it quiet down.
Writing helps…a bit. As I write this I remind myself to look at this through another lens. What would I say to a friend if they made this mistake? I’d remark that it’s no big deal. I’d tell them that everyone makes mistakes and it’s fine. Finally, I’d remind them to be kind to themselves. Show themselves grace. GRACE.
For some reason, it seems that grace is easier to show to others and is not easy to grant to ourselves. What will I learn from this? I will remember that I make mistakes like everyone and I will work to remember that my mistakes don’t define me, my response to the mistakes do. I will celebrate the messy and remember to have fun!
