Make More Mistakes*

Failure is just a sign that people are pushing themselves! ~EK

We all try to hide our flaws, and sometimes end up hiding ourselves completely in the process. Forget the notion of flawless perfection if the fear of failure inhibits you from putting in true effort and trying. We don’t improve, change, or grow by hiding from mistakes and perceived notions of incompetency and failure. Knowing what we have to work on means truly taking ownership of all parts of ourselves and no longer hiding the faulty parts, and the sooner you can diagnose areas you want to work on, the sooner you can get started.

Beyond our own view, we all have mentors and trusted friends who have experiences, perspectives, and knowledge that can enrich and guide our experiences, and it’s easier for people to help when they know how to help. It’s easier to know how to help and what to offer when they can see your faults, so blatantly display them! But display them next to an even more vibrant display that you want to improve yourself, that you are open to feedback and growth, and that you are willing to work extremely hard.

Perhaps this is why I love dancing — you can’t hide your faults. On the competition floor, you make sure that you have strengths that outshine your faults, and every time you dance you try your best. But off the floor, in training, your coaches and teachers will not focus on what you’re doing right, but on what you can do better. You don’t want to pretend to be flawless, you want there to be clear areas for improvement, and that requires that you dance truthfully, that you open yourself completely with your strengths and weaknesses on display, clear for all to see. And then you grow.

You grow, you grow, you grow, and one day, your dancing (or work, or life) will appear effortlessly beautiful and gracefully effortless. So show more, be louder, be seen, make more mistakes.

*If you aren’t making enough smart mistakes. If you are, carry on. If you’re making stupid mistakes, make smarter ones.