Talk About it Tuesday

You can do it

Make a Mistake and Move On

This week’s feature comes from weeks of stress that I didn’t ask for, but I got with a side of disappointments. Since beginning this furniture makeover portion business, I have had no luck at all. Every since piece has sucked a lot of energy and time out of me. They seem to take forever to complete and to add insult to injury, the weather hasn’t been the most cooperative. Typically when you decide to start something, it’s not until you say it that adversity strikes....I’m up to my neck in this moment. I have made so many mistakes I can’t count, but there’s still such a strong sense of pride and satisfaction once the project is complete that I keep going until the end. While things aren’t as easy or perfect as I’d prefer, I’m learning some valuable life lessons with each piece I finish.

1. Just like your life, the mistake is only as big as you allow it to be. One of the people I enjoyed watching on tv as a kid was Bob Ross. If. You’re anything like me, you’ve tried to paint those tree lined mountain scapes only to find that he had a different level of skill and technique that comes with much practice and many years. He would always say there’s no mistakes only happy accidents. I’ll be honest, I’ve tried to adopt this but painting a picture and sanding furniture are nothing alike. However, I’ve become more knowledgeable about various stains and color choices based on the accidents I’ve made along the way. Even though it appeared that I’ve messed up, I actually got the opportunity to learn something in regards to different types of furniture and their specific needs based on my desired outcome. This information has been invaluable with some of my upcoming projects. I don’t have to start at basic knowledge now and that’s exciting. This part wasn’t fun by any means, but because I’m willing to apply the learned information I can save myself some time in the future.

2. Quit when you’re done. This is on repeat in my head because it stuck with me when a trainer said it during a tough workout. It’s so easy to quit when things get tough. Sometimes you may need to take a mental break from a project or something that has caused you to pause from your regularly scheduled life, but not going back and finishing should never be an option. There is power in finishing something that thrusts you towards the “next” thing. This is all about empowering you and your beliefs...which leads me to #3

3. You have someone watching you. As a mom, my daughters pay very close attention to everything I do. If I change up a spice while cooking, if I change clothes, or even if I put on lip gloss, etc. This is important because I can’t preach to them to stop giving up when things get hard and move on to the next if that’s the example they see. For the past few years, they’ve been able to have a front seat of what happens when you go for a goal and work hard at it only an almost daily basis. They’ve seen my weight loss, my crafting level increase and improve, and most currently turn old furniture into something new. Kids need tangible things sometimes to understand and I refuse not to give them something to touch and see from my willingness to stick it out. When things don’t go my way, I have tried to make an effort to incorporate that into our talks and show them how I messed up and how I plan on fixing it. If they can learn and apply this lesson early, they’ll be willing to take more chances and there are definitely rewards with risks (knowing that if you make a mistake you can keep moving).

When one of my daughters makes a mistakes we ask “what can you do”?  We have conditioned their response of “anything”. Sometimes the believing comes from repetition and that’s the missing link in actually being able to complete something. Is this something you’ve been guilty of in the past like me? What are you doing or have done to change it?

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