Mistakes are Human

 Hey everyone! 

I want to use today’s post to start off by challenging you all to do something out of your comfort zone. This last week, one of my friends/ fellow council members and I filmed a video for a local leadership training day. This opportunity was exciting to me, yet I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous before recording it. I always struggled with public speaking, it has only recently become something I look forward to, though somehow the nerves never seem to dissipate. I wrote my script and practiced my lines, yet I told myself that when it came down to sharing my part, I could not mess up. But then I realized that was not realistic. It is okay and normal to trip upon my words and it is okay to repeat a word or two.  Given that, I have felt inspired to write about handling nerves and working through mistakes.

I was not sure with what direction I wanted to take this blog, but a story came to mind and I shall go with it. I remember when I was in 6th grade I had to give a presentation to my class. The days leading up to this presentation were full of fear and anxiety; I did not want to deliver a speech to my class. I spent hours writing a speech, making a presentation, writing notecards to help guide my talking. When I went into my presentation, I volunteered to go first—I had to get it over and done with. I walk to the front of the class with my note cards in hand and begin to talk. About two minutes into my presentation, a reminder of how anxious I was set in and I dropped all my notecards all over the floor. Luckily, I had numbered the cards so I was able to pick them all up, and continued with my speech. When I finished, I sunk back into my seat—I told myself I had ruined my chance of getting a relatively decent grade. However, it turns out my teacher was proud that I continued my speech for I did not let my nerves win. She reminded me that we are human, we have nerves, and we make mistakes, it is how we handle our mistakes and how we handle our nerves that counts. 

My experience is likely not unique, though I was young, the lesson remains prevalent in my day-to-day life. It is okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are life lessons. They teach you right versus wrong, they teach you to grow, they teach you to admit you are wrong (it is okay to be wrong!). The beautiful thing about making a mistake is that you have opportunities to try again, and the second time around, you have a little more knowledge under your belt than you did before. 

So there it is. I challenge you to try something new. If it does not work out, use what you learned and try again. Mistakes lead to learning and learning leads to growth, and growth is a beautiful thing. 

In friendship, 

Sophie :)