Screwing up may be the best thing you’ve ever done

A few minutes ago, Daniel screwed up 

You’ve screwed up. Royally. And as you sift through the pieces of your shattered project, job, reputation, relationship, etc…you don’t feel awesome one bit.  But what you may be failing to realize is that you could be standing in the aftermath of one of the best things that has happened to you.

While we give lip service to the fact that mistakes are opportunities for growth, we hate to make them. We hate dealing with the consequences of our screw-ups. We hate to be reminded that we may suck a little bit more than we otherwise thought (or at least projected). Why? Because behind the defensive mechanisms and the egoist posturing – we’re really fragile.  And often times, to protect that fragility we build walls, dig moats, erect watchtowers, and post/deploy armies.  So the “Nation of You” never really builds its internal resources (i.e. creativity, self-assessment), but commits all of its development to its external resources (i.e. finances, public image).

Sometimes when you screw up and are standing in the wreckage, you can actually see clearly to what extent you are really awesome or not. Sometimes when you fall off, you realize that you weren’t that far from the bottom to begin with – or you weren’t sitting as high as you thought you were.  A screw-up gives you at least a moment for a pretty clear reflection, without the distractions associated with maintaining the walls, the moats, and the army.  When you screw up you are found alone with simple, fragile YOU – the core from which your awesomeness actually emanates.