Let Yourself Make Mistakes — or Should I Say, “Happy Accidents”?
Why letting down your guard can lead to better results
Everyone knows Bob Ross’ famous quote: “we don’t make mistakes, we just have happy accidents”.
I’ve always heard this quote and even seen it printed on t-shirts before. But, I never really gave it a second thought. I realized, however, that this quote can actually make a huge difference in your mindset towards life in general.
I tried my first Bob Ross painting tutorial the other day. I wasn’t expecting too much — I had never had a big gift for art and painting. But I was still eager to try something new, and hopefully, get a good result out of it.
I started the painting, but as I started to keep moving on, I kept feeling like I was making it worse. Every step I did seemed like I destroyed the painting and there was no way to undo my mistake. However, while watching Bob Ross positively show how he was doing it, I tried to remember his quote.
Although I started to panic at first and thought that I ruined a perfectly good canvas, I decided to start to shift my mindset to be calmer. Rather than looking at the painting through my super perfectionist lens, I decided to let my guard down and a little and look at my mistakes as “happy accidents” — things that can be solved in ways that are easier than I think.
I started to blend different colors and work with the painting to undo some of the mistakes I made by drawing more trees or extending the lake across the canvas. By the time I finished painting, I was surprisingly happy with the results. Had I given up and stopped before, I may not have gotten the results I ended up with. It turned out better than I thought.
I didn’t think I would learn that much from doing a Bob Ross painting other than learning how to paint. But this moment taught me a lot about how sometimes I ruin things for myself, not from my mistakes, but from letting my mistakes control me.
By letting your guard down and taking a step back, you can create amazing things that you didn’t think you could. Allow yourself to make mistakes — no one is perfect. And it’s okay to make mistakes, but rather than beating yourself up about them, try to find ways you could easily undo them. Let yourself be more creative.
Obviously you don’t need to let down your guard in every situation in life — there are times where focus is necessary. However, you don’t want to make yourself stressed over smaller problems that can easily be undone.
Your mistakes are happy accidents — a chance to improve. They are a chance to create something you didn’t even imagine before. They are a chance to learn, a chance to grow, and a chance for you to look at new perspectives. They can turn something average into a happier thing.
If you constantly hate on your mistakes, you often give up too early. If you let yourself down before you can even take a chance to reflect, you might miss out on some amazing results and experiences.
Although a short message, it can be an important one. Your mistakes let you grow, no matter the size. So if you ever feel yourself start to get into a perfectionist mode that doesn’t allow any mistakes, remind yourself:
“We don’t make mistakes, we just have happy accidents”.
