Today, I had the experience of being told that if I wanted to make the work place cooperative and pleasant, I could never make a mistake. I know this statement, though complete and utter bullshit, was born out of frustration and a desire to keep an effective and efficient production schedule. I didn’t get upset, but asserted that it was an unrealistic expectation, and that people make mistakes. It’s that simple.
When faced with such an idiotic statement, that’s completely irrational, I take heart in a statement made by Benjamin Franklin. I haven’t failed, I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work. I believe Thomas Edison made a similar statement.
Mistakes tell us when we are on the wrong track. They tell us when certain behaviors bring us pain, and we can avoid them in the future. When we become over confident or become less vigilant in our jobs, we get these sharp reminders to not only pay more attention, but to do better, to excel.
Experience is the greatest teacher, and through experience, our knowledge has meaning. It has substance. Henry Rollins said “knowledge without mileage is bullshit.” I believe this. We can know that the stove is hot, but we won’t understand what it means in the context of real life unless we touch that hot stove, and get burned.
I was recently talking to a friend and he told me of a class he had to take three times in order to pass. He didn’t give up, and he discovered a more effective way to learn. I assume he was able to apply this experience to other classes.
Mistakes aren’t fun. They aren’t convenient. They aren’t practical. They are, however, essential. A complete life cannot involve only success and correctness in everything we do. We can’t comprehend success in it’s proper context without having known failure. We can’t know correctness without also knowing incorrectness.
I think we should strive to do the best we can, whenever possible. But I also believe that when we encounter human foibles, we ought to view it in it’s proper context. You’re not stupid, you’re not bad, you’re not wrong and no one ought to make you feel as if you are. You didn’t intend to screw up. (Having intent is a different story) You are simply someone who has learned what not to do, and hopefully, how to do better.
Anyone who is in an environment where no one can make a mistake, and imperfection is not tolerated will eventually lose all creative thinking, and never take a chance on improving that environment or their circumstances. That person becomes stagnant and eventually becomes a machine.
So go out, make the effort to do something, and screw it up. Then try it again. It makes us better people in the long wrong. Oops, I mean long run…
