Learning from mistakes

Yesterday, I realized that I had made a big mistake in one critical measurement positioning the hood in our new kitchen. I had just missed to consider a key element on the drawing and started to panic about it; it wasn’t the “other guy’s” mistake, it was yours truly. After returning from dinner with friends, I tore down everything I had done, and at around 2 am, realized that there was another solution that had eluded me... Of course, I can’t say that I’m a real “handyman” and that particular work was a totally new experience to me. So, painfully, I learned something new. Learning in fact is a commonplace occurrence in my daily life. Not so much through the massive of information I receive everyday, but mostly through ventures into unknown territories and skills, where pitfalls abound and where errors generally hurt. I’ve found for a long time that painful emotions have a searing effect and generally make a life lasting mark on an individual. As we say, “no pain, no gain” and while I hate being in the situation in I was last night, this will never deter me from venturing outside of my comfort zone and trying something new. The rewards of discovery, skill-building and the resulting satisfaction are very well worth an evening of feeling down…