I know what you must be thinking: Two blogs in two consecutive days? Wow, something must be happening in the atmosphere! I told you that I owed all of you some of my thoughts since I was away at school. So until the summer session begins, I want to stay with the theme and pick up where I conveniently left off with a few more thoughts from yesterday...
Are you worried that you are messing up a lot in your life? One of the most common concerns that I get from people I talk to on a regular basis is they feel like they are failing. They feel like they are failing in life, in their careers, and in their relationships. If you sometimes feel this way, then you are exactly where you should be. Like I said in yesterday's blog, one of my favorite ways of looking at life is that it is a
never-ending series of mistakes. You are constantly messing up, and
there is no other way around it, but you are not alone. Commercial airplanes are off their flight path 95% of the time
when they are heading towards a destination. Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee juggled dozens of
crappy jobs until he invented Spiderman at 40 years old. Actors Halle Berry
and Jim Carey were both homeless before they found fame. I said all of this is to say, if you feel like you don’t know what you are
doing with your life half of the time, then congratulations, you are
doing just fine. In fact, here are three areas in which you should start making more mistakes…
1. Your career - Finding your ultimate career will usually take going through a ton of jobs that you do not even enjoy that much, if you can enjoy it at all. Hugh Jackman worked as a party clown. A young Brad Pitt wore a giant
chicken suit to advertise for a fast food restaurant. Harrison Ford was a
carpenter when George Lucas hired him into the Star Wars franchise. As long as you’re finding out what you don’t like, you’re always getting closer to what you do like.
2. Your habits - Emotion exists in relation to itself. If you have never felt
devastating heartbreak or grief, then you will not fully appreciate the
joy and happiness in your life. Every now and then, it may be a good idea to go back in your mind to the habits you used to have, so you can remind yourself of the consequences of those habits. You’re not generally a big drinker anymore, but one day you go overboard and
get wasted? The hangover alone will remind you of why you chose not to drink that much anymore. Do you get
a lot out of seeing your friends? That week away from them will affect
your emotional fulfillment more than you think. You are usually a
full-time gym rat, but you haven’t been going for a few weeks? That
sprint towards the bus in the morning will quickly remind you of your fitness level.
3. Your relationships - It is an all too common cop out for people to tell themselves "I don’t want to date right now, I’m waiting for someone who is truly special." Although having high standards is certainly important, if you do not
have much of a dating history under your belt, then you might not know
what you are looking for in a partner. Just as it is rare to fall into your dream job right out of college,
it is equally unlikely that you will find your ideal match in your first
lover. So get out there, taste the rainbow a bit and discover what you
do and do not like in a partner.
And remember, as long as you are on a continuous loop of messing up and learning, then you’re doing just fine. Experience comes come from getting things wrong, a lot. Think about it, and let's make better mistakes tomorrow…
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