Mistakes: A Good Measure of our Happiness

by Kaleb Montgomery, Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine

At the end of last newsletter I promised we would delve into the connection between fear, making mistakes and happiness.

The crazy thing is that even though security is what we all strive for, by striving for it, we are robbing ourselves of feeling alive. I know that this is a controversial statement, so let us look into the subject further. Think of the last time you were really excited about life, when you bounded out of bed in the morning eager to get on with your day. That¹s what it feels like to be fully alive. Chances are you felt like that because something new and exciting was happening ,or about to happen, in your life. Making sure something new and exciting is happening often in our lives is a key to feeling fully alive.

How does making mistakes factor into this process? Well if you are doing something new and unfamiliar then you are bound to be making mistakes. That is why looking at how many mistakes you are making is a good way to guage if you are risking enough. Mistakes are a direct consequence of how much growth and new territory we are covering. If I am making mistakes then I am pushing my envelope and growing. Thus the link between growth and happiness.

The fear connection comes in because it is scary to put yourself into unfamiliar territory. By definition doing something new is going to be uncomfortable. It is living on the fine edge between fear and excitement that makes us feel fully alive. Doing something new is how we stay on that fine edge. The alternative is to stay were it is safe and known. However life quickly looses its flavour if we stick to only the familiar.
Happy, successful people are always excited about something. Dare to be happy and feel alive. Be one of those people who overflow with life and energy. Try something new and make mistakes today.