The Greatest Lesson

I am my own worst critic, and I'm working on it.

I have a habit of being hard on myself when things don't go as planned. It can be a strength because it makes me try my hardest always, but it can also be a hindrance if I can't move on from mistakes. It's a skill to be able to dust yourself off and keep on going. It's not something that you are born with, but something that you can only build from...making more mistakes. Bouncing back is arguably one of the most important skills to obtain though because, in reality, things almost never go as planned. Mistakes has such a negative connotation that this can be a challenge. It helps to think about mistakes differently.

Mistakes = Life Lessons

Mistakes = Being Human

My high school years were full of changing plans, which were sometimes due to mistakes and sometimes due to life just getting in the way. And, honestly, I wasn't always the best at handling the change. There were many times when I jumped to worst-case scenarios, or slid down a wall.

My parents would say that I metaphorically "went up a tree".

It could be from missing an assignment or just worried about not ever getting into a college. Well clearly that didn't happen. In fact, almost everything that I was worried about, usually ended up turning out ok. Finally, I have started catching on to this trend. What I'm learning is that paths change all the time, kind of like the Hogwarts staircases, but if you stay focused and determined, you can still reach your goal. One of the phrases that my mom would always say is, "this too shall pace." She is a very wise woman and I have adopted that phrase for my own. I say it to myself and my friends all the time. And as much as we would like to think that our situations are so unique that no one understands.

But the truth is, we're not that special.

Other people have gone through exactly what we are and they ended up fine. There's always someone to talk to; there's always somewhere you can get advice.

I had to remind myself of this yesterday when things didn't go as planned with a project I am leading. My team and I prepped for months. But when it came time, our audience never showed. It hurt, but I must stay strong for my team. I gave myself some time to take a deep breath and think through what we could do to get the audience there and to improve the accessibility of the project. Next, I emailed my team to regroup and have a meeting planned with my supervisors to get advice.

There isn't time to stay in a rut, we must keep going.