Mistakes are Information

“Mistakes are information” has been my phrase of the summer. In intensive classes i’ve been teaching at different studios, after warm up, I utter the phrase “okay line up, let’s go across the floor” and instantly that collective breath and joy cultivated in warm up shrivels. The first go across the floor is stiff and stressed. This has led me to open the discussion about across the floor. I tell the students this is an opportunity for you to have the space to figure it out, you don’t have the answers yet. I urge them to go across the floor with more curiosity. The next pass across the floor is 98 percent of the time better than they could imagine.

I used to hear it a lot growing up from my mom really; “its what you do with perceived failure that matters,” a phrase I've thought on a lot through the years. How do I make it count when it doesn’t go as I’ve planned. Ive seen this in my own experience as a professional dancer and that journey as well as in life. Being worried about making a mistake is debilitating, sabatoging even especially when working to make a career out of something you love, but somehow, giving yourself the space and permission to make a mistake is freeing when going into something new, or an arena where you have high expectations for yourself. Every day is a new day and that permission allows you to fly into your best, because if you fall, you learned something for next time. If you want it bad enough there will always be a next time, and it may be even better than you think.

Also i’ve noticed if you spend too much time on that mistake and the fact that you made a mistake you miss the best part. the information, which is the golden nugget into growth. It’s important to hold yourself accountable in a kind way for those mistakes so that you can dive into the information lies in the process.

Look at what went wrong and look at what went right. That can be in an instant, in the moment, deep reflection or a brief thought. When you look at what went wrong, make sure you figuratively pat yourself on the back for what worked for you so you can add that to your toolbox too.

We often go into an experience because we want to learn something, whether it be about ourselves, a skill, the world, another human. Dig deep, Keep seeking, do your thing and let fear fall behind. You will make mistakes, many of them and thank god, you may just make the world a better place because of it.