What if messing up is succeeding?

If you are any little bit like me, my guess is that you find yourself over and over again coming back to a place you thought you had already mastered, and you wouldn’t be messing up that one again. It can be a relationship, body issues, eating habits… actually it can be anything. And then you beat yourself up, and get caught in the net of the unproductive “why can’t I” will-take-you-nowhere mantra.

Does this ever happen to you? I know it does happen to me.

In life, many many times we don't get things right, either on the 1st round, or the 2nd or even the 3rd or ... (ok, enough! You know what I mean, right?!). We mess up and we mess up like pros! Or maybe not!!!!

What if we aren’t really messing up? What if we are indeed succeeding?

Life is like flying an airplane. Did you know that a plane is off course over 90% of the time? Due to weather conditions, turbulence, and other factors, it gets off track, and it is the pilot who makes course corrections and keeps coming back to the flight plan, bringing the plane back on course. The same happens with our lives.

If we see every instant of life as an opportunity to grow, instead of beating ourselves up thinking we failed; if we see every challenge life throws at us as a chance to upgrade ourselves, instead of dumping a whole bunch of shitty judgements all over ourselves; if we can take a setback as a moment to make course corrections when we find ourselves off track, then we may discover that life is not about Balance but instead, it is about BALANCING.

Life is dynamic, not static. Life is change, not permanence. Life is a VERB, not a noun.  

This version of me wouldn't be possible without the former version of me. And neither of them is better or worse than the other... They build on each other, as we step into the greater version of ourselves, as we remove the excess of the marble until the final masterpiece we already are is revealed to us.

We are not a masterpiece in the making. We are a masterpiece in the unfolding!

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A Small Rock & a Life Lesson on SUCCESS

That day, the Spring sun was shining and I felt like going into nature. After driving for 15 minutes, we ended up on the side of the river. People were already sunbathing, kids were playing in the water, dogs were swimming and chasing balls. And we were just stopping by, no bathing suit nor towel... only my deep desire to go and be near the water.

Gui (10) was having fun throwing small rocks into the river, and he soon decided to raise the bar. He went on a mission to take out a hand sized rock that was stuck under the earth.  After a quick look around, he grabbed a tiny nail sized rock, and started digging around the bigger one. He dug for quite some time, and the big rock was getting more and more exposed. I could tell he would be able to grab it and pull it out shortly.

So, there I was, with these thoughts in my head when I hear:

— Mum, I quit!

Life, being a great teacher, was presenting me with an opportunity to teach him something really powerful about life and the challenges it brings us.

And so I tell him:

— After spending so much time digging and putting so much effort on that challenge, are you going to quit now? Did you know that usually when we quit something, we are only 2 millimetres away from achieving our goal? Let's try something! You go back in there, and just keep digging for 2 more minutes, and let's see what happens.

Shortly after, he triumphantly raised the rock, and threw it into the river.

You see, in life it's never the lack of resources that stops you from successfully achieving your goals and making your dreams come true. RESOURCEFULNESS IS THE KEY!

Knowing his outcome, being creative to use that nail sized rock as a digging tool, being persistent, staying consistent and being resilient enough to not give up on his desired outcome — All of it, allowed him to achieve his goal.

We excitedly celebrated his success, rewarding his determination. And do you know what happened next? He dared to dream bigger! He then went for a really big rock, found himself a thick sharpened stick as a tool, and went on a new mission — and this time he didn't even consider giving up.

In life, small successes take us closer to bigger dreams.

When you feel like quitting, usually you are only 2 mm away from succeeding at whatever outcome you are going after. Get really clear on your outcome, become a really resourceful person, and keep on following those dreams of yours!

Actual photo of his mission

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