An important thought struck me while shampooing my receding hairline this morning: I don’t have to be defined by my mistakes and weaknesses any longer. Today is a new day and what happened last month, last year, or when I was younger has no relevance to what needs to get done today.
Sure, mistakes and weaknesses can act as a barometer and let me know what’s going on in different areas of my life. But they can drag me down, manipulating me to live a life in the Try > Fail > Defeat cycle, eventually losing all ambition and risk.
The only way out of this cycle is to work in spite of my mistakes and weaknesses. I can push beyond how they have defined me in the past by getting up again after I stumble and fall. I can ignore the harsh self-talk that occurs when I make a mistake or reveal my weakness to others. I can realize that learning and knowledge will only come when mistakes and weaknesses are celebrated, not used as a weapon of demotivation and depression.
Most importantly, I understand that I need other people because where I am weak, others are strong. The biggest mistake one can make is living in isolation with the belief that he or she does not need anyone to help them.