Day #24: Lighten up

  "Mistakes are the portals of discovery." 

~James Joyce

I love Ultimate frisbee, but the people I play with are extremely, I mean overly competitive. I thought I was  competitive, but some of the people out there are as, or far more so than I. Just recently we've had two injuries, one being a broken collar bone, and the other my brother's mouth. Out on the field,  you realize that to get the frisbee passed in your direction, you must first learn that catching the frisbee is the ultimate goal, and bodily injuries to yourself or others, is second priority. That's why they call it "Ultimate frisbee." Catch it, or don't expect it to visit you much after. Mistakes aren't welcome, and if you are a mistake incarnate, this is not the place for you. Sarcasm aside, mistakes aren't taken kindly to, so don't worry about it if your running full speed into a chain-link fence, it's better to be a hurt hero, than a healthy hang-up. 

All of us make mistakes, and really, mistakes are nothing to be ashamed of. It's really funny to see some of the best frisbee players make ridiculous screw-ups, and then hide their red faces behind a abashed sort of grin. That can be so satisfying. Nonetheless, it doesn't matter how good you are, whenever you get cocky, or over-confident, mistakes lie in wait of discovery. When you're finally able to overcome the embarrassment of making mistakes, you realize that often, they are just opportunities to learn. Failure is just another word for experience. Don't beat yourself up and don't over-think your shortcomings. Lighten up learn, and be an inspiration to those who follow in your failure footsteps. Dale Carnegie said, "The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way." 

The light bulb, a small but valuable invention was created by trial-and-error and thousands of mistakes. It took Thomas Edison over 10,000 tries to find the perfect filament that could sustain and resist strong heat. When asked about his failures he said, "I have not failed, I have only found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas Edison persevered and learned from the mistakes that he made, and today, we have him to thank for electric light. 

"A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them." ~John Maxwell