I have made a lot of mistakes in my career; as a person, a coach, and a business owner.
I’m not proud of those mistakes – but without them, I am not the person, coach, or business-owner that I am today.
There is an honesty in making mistakes – a necessary confrontation with reality.
People seem proud of their perfectionism, but there is no doubt that it is an insecure, and fear-driven way to live. It is exhausting and stressful, as you are continually comparing your current reality with a made-up perfect version of yourself.
To embrace mistakes – and the growth that stems from them – means to abandon this ambition, to do away with the worry of having to never put a foot wrong, and instead to accept imperfections, and to realize that it is these that make us who we are.
Especially in elite sport – where by virtue of being one of the world’s best at what you do allows for a wealth of experience that wouldn’t be afforded otherwise – it is so important that you value not perfection, but instead the process of striving towards excellence.
“The baker can’t simply live for the look of amazement on the faces of those who behold his latest creation. There has to be some joy in actually baking the cake.”
Ta-Nehisi Coates
