In a growth mindset (vs. a fixed mindset) letting ourselves goof up every now and then is key to learning to take risks in the future. Goofing up is a way of embracing our imperfections and weaknesses-- and ALL of us have imperfections and weaknesses.
Brenee Brown states in her book The Gift of Imperfection, “Understanding the difference between healthy striving and perfectionism is critical to laying down the shield and picking up your life. Research shows that perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it's often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis.” When was the last time you goofed?
The next time you goof and are tempted to stay stuck in the goo, remember these 5 things:
A pencil has an eraser for a reason. No one is exempt from making a mistake. In fact, they must not be human if they have never made a mistake. When writing with a pencil if you make a mistake, you simply turn the pencil over and erase, if the pencil doesn’t have an eraser, you can always cross out the mistake and keep on writing.
There’s a product called Goof-Off for a reason. Painters use a product called goof-off because even those who have been painting for years will still make mistakes. Goof-off removes it and we must create our own goof-off product--often called self-forgiveness.
You are not a goof, you simply goofed. You are not your mistake… or said another way, you are not a failure, you failed at a particular task or assignment. The distinction between your character (a goof) versus your action (goofed/goofing) is very different. When you berate your character instead of acknowledging an action you took (intentionally or not), you are denying who God created you to be.
Put the bat away (don’t beat yourself up). When we goof, we often begin to beat ourselves up. The next time we goof, we must imagine ourselves with a bat (a blow-up one of course) and what it looks life to keep hitting ourselves with it. Then, take the bat and put it away, it really does look silly.
Don’t repeat grades... In grade school if you don't learn the lessons, you have to repeat the grade. Although seemingly an unnecessary reminder, it is important to learn the lesson from the mistake so that you won't do the exact same thing. You can avoid this by learning the lessons the mistake is teaching you.
Strategies for avoiding repeating mistakes abound. Perhaps you make it harder to make the mistake again or make a plan for what you will do if the same situation arises whatever the strategy remember that mistakes happen. As the saying goes, "God created me and God don't make no junk!" You are not a mistake, just because you made one.
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