Oops, I did it again!

What are mistakes, really?

The etymology is clear.* The prefix mis- (meaning “badly” or “wrongly”), changes take (meaning “grasp”) to “grasp badly or wrongly.”

In other words, we didn’t get what we tried to grasp when we made a mistake.

But why do we conflate mistakes with failure?

That seems the biggest mistake of all.

Sure, if you don’t get what you tried to get, you failed to get it, but is that really a failure in an ultimate or absolute sense.

Did I fail if I made a mistake when developing a skill like speaking French, running hurdles, baking a cake, or playing chess?

What about mistakes made when I’m leveling up my skills as a coach, marketer, writer, or leader. Are those failures?

I don’t think so.

For me, mistakes are reminders that I’m playing my game.

What about you?

Are you making mistakes along the way as you play your game?

The game played at the edges of your understanding and ability (which is where growth happens).

Your game (and mine) isn’t the finite game of winners and losers, and mistakes are failures that parents, peers, society, and school sold you.

After all, you can’t win playing someone else’s game.

Your game is an infinite one about discovering yourself, developing your potential, and delivering the difference only you can make.

In that game, mistakes are merely lessons that help you iterate and improve so you can play again half a shade better and truer to yourself than the last go-round.

Play your game all in and full out.

Play it with relish (games are, after all, supposed to be fun) and restraint (you do, after all, want to live to play again tomorrow).

And remember, mistakes only happen when you’re playing your game fully and well.

What mistakes did you make today that indicated you’re playing one worth playing?

*Tom Trainer

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at Creative on Purpose

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