Making Mistakes

Sweater: Gap (on sale!); Top: Gap; Jeans: Gap; Boots: c/o Lulu*s

I recently fulfilled a calligraphy order (a physical set of place cards) that contained an error. I misspelled someone's name. Though the place cards weren't urgent, I was mortified to have made an error on one of my first orders and I think I physically blushed when I received the client's email saying that she needed a replacement for one of the mistakes. She was very kind, but it weighed heavily on my mind. I'd double and triple checked the order and just happened to miss an "m." It felt like a rookie mistake (and I am a rookie so that shouldn't come as a surprise).

When I interviewed for my current job, the owner of the company asked me a whole series of tough questions to gauge my fit in the company. He kept driving at questions that would determine my ability to take risks, step outside of my comfort zone, and, inevitably, make mistakes. When I used an example that cited my previous work environment's aversion to any mistake making (not limited to typos or data entry errors on reports), he visibly balked. He let me know that a crucial piece of working at his company was being able to make mistakes. To not be afraid of doing new things and taking on new responsibilities that could lead to errors. Without mistakes, he said, there was no learning process. There were no risks taken. And that message hit home for me.

I usually operate under a "try never to do anything wrong" mode and that leads to really safe behavior. My thinking immediately defaulted to: if I'd never started my calligraphy business, I'd never have made a mistake on place cards. If I'd never taken that risk, I wouldn't be feeling some embarrassment at my error. And yet, despite that negative train of thought, I know that I am better for that mistake. For a first physical order of ink on paper, it was a small mistake to make and one easily correctable with a new place card. And I learned something insanely valuable: regardless of how many times you proofread an order... make Ben proofread it too. I'm pretty sure that the cost of this mistake (about a dollar in postage and paper and some red cheeks) was far less than the payment of experience and of learning a lesson.

The lesson from my interview with the company owner rings true tonight - we can't be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes foster growth, learning, and often mean that we took a risk to be able to move forward.