TED Talks - Making Mistakes
Yesterday, I was driving home and listening to my TED talk podcast playlist. I regularly listen to podcasts in the afternoon (the local host for my NPR station bugs me - she says "Missour-ah" - that should say it all!) and alternate between Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, The Thrilling Adventure Hour, and now, TED Talks. Yesterday's discussion was about making mistakes.
I don't like to make mistakes. I don't think there are many of us out there who do like to make mistakes, but I really don't like to make mistakes. I am a bit (cough, cough) of a perfectionist who places unreal expectations upon herself. I am constantly challenged by the "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda Goblins" that take over my head at times. I want everything to be perfect, especially for my clients. The problem? Well, I'm not perfect and will never be able to attain absolute perfection.
That's okay.
Mistakes happen. What is important is how you respond and react to making a mistake. The TED talk from my commute yesterday reminded me that it's how you respond to your mistake that defines you.
Bob Ross, painting instructor of the Joy of Painting, was a big influence in my life when I started graduate school. In the mid-morning hours on Saturdays, there wasn't much on out here in Kansas, so I would watch Bob Ross' program. I used him as a meditation technique - his voice was soothing, hypnotic, and it was paired with a visual that allowed me some time to relax. His attitude about mistakes was that there were no mistakes in painting, just "happy accidents." He would take a smudge and turn it into a tree or a cabin. Every mistake was an opportunity - to grow, to develop, to change, to learn.
In the TED talk, Stefon Harris asked "Are there mistakes in Jazz?" His answer indicated that the only time there was a mistake in jazz was when incidents happened and were not acknowledged and made part of the experience. He demonstrated the concept within several jazz improvisations. Taking the improvisation analogy into the music therapy setting, the big mistake would be a therapist or a client ignoring what is happening during the music. Hmmm.
I've made mistakes in my life. I've made wrong decisions. I've had to completely change course with my professional and personal lives. I've had to spend time trying to sort out situations that have been my responsibility and other situations that have not been my responsibility but that I've had to sort out. In each of those situations, I have tried to learn something. I've learned about how to do things, and how not to do things. I've learned to plan, and I've learned to improvise. I've tried to figure out how to avoid mistakes in the future (back to being a perfectionist again), and I've kept making mistakes - new ones and, every so often, the same ones.
When I make a mistake, I make sure I do three things:
I don't like to make mistakes. I don't think there are many of us out there who do like to make mistakes, but I really don't like to make mistakes. I am a bit (cough, cough) of a perfectionist who places unreal expectations upon herself. I am constantly challenged by the "Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda Goblins" that take over my head at times. I want everything to be perfect, especially for my clients. The problem? Well, I'm not perfect and will never be able to attain absolute perfection.
That's okay.
Mistakes happen. What is important is how you respond and react to making a mistake. The TED talk from my commute yesterday reminded me that it's how you respond to your mistake that defines you.
Bob Ross, painting instructor of the Joy of Painting, was a big influence in my life when I started graduate school. In the mid-morning hours on Saturdays, there wasn't much on out here in Kansas, so I would watch Bob Ross' program. I used him as a meditation technique - his voice was soothing, hypnotic, and it was paired with a visual that allowed me some time to relax. His attitude about mistakes was that there were no mistakes in painting, just "happy accidents." He would take a smudge and turn it into a tree or a cabin. Every mistake was an opportunity - to grow, to develop, to change, to learn.
In the TED talk, Stefon Harris asked "Are there mistakes in Jazz?" His answer indicated that the only time there was a mistake in jazz was when incidents happened and were not acknowledged and made part of the experience. He demonstrated the concept within several jazz improvisations. Taking the improvisation analogy into the music therapy setting, the big mistake would be a therapist or a client ignoring what is happening during the music. Hmmm.
I've made mistakes in my life. I've made wrong decisions. I've had to completely change course with my professional and personal lives. I've had to spend time trying to sort out situations that have been my responsibility and other situations that have not been my responsibility but that I've had to sort out. In each of those situations, I have tried to learn something. I've learned about how to do things, and how not to do things. I've learned to plan, and I've learned to improvise. I've tried to figure out how to avoid mistakes in the future (back to being a perfectionist again), and I've kept making mistakes - new ones and, every so often, the same ones.
When I make a mistake, I make sure I do three things:
- Acknowledge the mistake
- Take ownership
- Apologize
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