Sometimes we f*ck things up and that's okay.
I've had a weird day yesterday and I realized I made two mistakes.
I used to have no compassion for myself when I made mistakes. Everything I do had to be perfect, otherwise, it was as good as garbage. As I grow up, I realized that it is not that easy to keep everything top-notch. And I need to go after progress over perfection.
I will give you a very easy tip to apply in your life not to beat yourself over every mistake you do. We can call it “step back and observe”.
Yesterday, I was feeling off since the morning. My mind was clattered, I had to start working as soon as I woke up so there was no time for my morning routine which includes meditation when I need it. I was not able to focus, everything was blurry. I would prefer to work from home and clear my mind at that moment but I work in an engineering lab and my intern needed me. I had to rush to the lab and get to the work right away. I was sleepy, tired, and hungry, on top of it, I didn't have time to eat lunch either so all the ingredients for mistakes were there.
When I was leaving work I was happy to fix some issues and able to help unaware of the mistakes I made. Sometimes we need to take the small wins. I went to the metro station and even if it is very rare, the metro broke down so I miss the bus I am supposed to take afterward. That lead me to walk home in beautiful nature for 45 min with my thoughts and clear my head with amazing trees, plants, and flowers.
Funny how things evolve sometimes. Therefore, we need to step back to see what is really happening. It is vital to be mindful of our days or weeks and evaluate what happened and why it happened. This gives a perception of what we can do better in the future, how our mind works in certain situations, and how we react when unexpected events happen. Think about the day you had when you made a mistake and reflect on what happened.
If we take my day as an example. I couldn't do my meditation and my morning routine and I had a cluttered, foggy mind. I had to rush to the work before I take care of myself (eat, sleep, rest my mind) and I made mistakes. The metro broke down so I couldn't catch the bus after, but thanks to that I was able to unwind my mind and clear my thoughts in a long walk in nature. This analysis about yourself is extremely important to know what is good for you, what you benefit more, how can you feel better about yourself and how can you involve the things that matter to you in your life. Basically, to learn from your mistakes.
I started having a morning routine in the first place because I felt like all I do is run to work in the morning without taking care of myself and calming my mind. In this age where the “hustling” mindset is praised massively, it is not that hard to fall into the trap and forget ourselves on the way.
We are all human and even though society or social media gives us the impression that we need to be perfect with our job, body, house, spouse, perfect anything as a matter of fact. We are not. And this is an illusion. We are prone to mistakes, sometimes it is not our day or week or even a month. We are not robots so it is okay to make mistakes once in a while. Don’t be so harsh on yourself. Seek for what you can do better next time and how can you improve yourself to progress every day but not to be perfect. Listen to what your soul, mind, and body need.
And remember, mistakes mean you are trying, it is always better than staying in your comfort zone and not doing anything. It means you are living, experiencing. Learn, enjoy and move on.
