Mistakes and New Directions
About a week and a half ago, I read an article in Reader's Digest. While a bit simplistic, it had an interesting message. The author claims there are two types of people: those who see life situations and personalities as static or unchanging and therefore see mistakes that they make as having a negative reflection on their own lives or persons and those who see situations and character as changing and evolving and therefore see mistakes as opportunities for learning and for growth. I have to admit, I typically fit more into the first group than the second.
This last weekend, I was at a four day course in which the instructor detailed a specific way of evaluating and treating low back problems and radiating pain into the legs. The entire system of evaluations and treatments involves looking at things through a new set of eyes and in a different way than I typically do. I was skeptical at first, but as the course went on, I could see the logic in it and was able to see that it does actually work, and quickly. I also learned, in this system, that sometimes we have to temporarily make things worse in order to learn how to make them better. Making the radiating symptoms worse is not a failure in that it teaches us something specific about the direction in which we need to go in order to make the symptoms substantially better. So we turn around and move in the opposite direction, continuing to monitor symptoms and learn further about the nature of the problem as we work in that direction, continuing to make adjustments to the procedure based on the feedback we receive.
I see a parallel to life in this. We cannot be afraid of trying something, moving in one direction, and of the possibility of making mistakes. We may never know what is the right direction for us to move unless we try one direction and monitor the outcomes. If we make a mistake, that will teach us something about the direction in which we are not to move so that we can turn around and move in a new direction. Life is not about sitting in one place, hoping the answers will come to us. It is about moving and learning and growing. It is about exploring the possibilities and taking some chances, about finding joy in the process. Life is constantly changing, and we must allow ourselves to change and grow right along with it, all while being deeply rooted in a system that does not change and that helps us to make some sense of it all... that system is faith.
This last weekend, I was at a four day course in which the instructor detailed a specific way of evaluating and treating low back problems and radiating pain into the legs. The entire system of evaluations and treatments involves looking at things through a new set of eyes and in a different way than I typically do. I was skeptical at first, but as the course went on, I could see the logic in it and was able to see that it does actually work, and quickly. I also learned, in this system, that sometimes we have to temporarily make things worse in order to learn how to make them better. Making the radiating symptoms worse is not a failure in that it teaches us something specific about the direction in which we need to go in order to make the symptoms substantially better. So we turn around and move in the opposite direction, continuing to monitor symptoms and learn further about the nature of the problem as we work in that direction, continuing to make adjustments to the procedure based on the feedback we receive.
I see a parallel to life in this. We cannot be afraid of trying something, moving in one direction, and of the possibility of making mistakes. We may never know what is the right direction for us to move unless we try one direction and monitor the outcomes. If we make a mistake, that will teach us something about the direction in which we are not to move so that we can turn around and move in a new direction. Life is not about sitting in one place, hoping the answers will come to us. It is about moving and learning and growing. It is about exploring the possibilities and taking some chances, about finding joy in the process. Life is constantly changing, and we must allow ourselves to change and grow right along with it, all while being deeply rooted in a system that does not change and that helps us to make some sense of it all... that system is faith.
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