Oops: Or is It?
I caught the nasty "end of summer" or "beginning of fall bug" that's plowing through the masses. It's the one that causes you to go through multiple boxes of tissues and the skin on your nose disappears. I'm on week three and it feels like it's taken permanent residence in my lungs. Thankfully, it's not pneumonia and a week of breathing treatments will help. But it's also zapped my energy. So, I've been a sloth. A couch potato. A slug. And I've watched a lot of college football, old movies, HGTV, and cooking shows.
One chef's excitement made me smile. This particular young man was participating in a cooking challenge. Anytime he'd do something unexpected or especially delicious, he'd exclaim, "Oopsie." He emigrated from Haiti, and I'm not sure he understood the exact meaning of the word, but I liked the way he used it. He meant it for something good, wonderful, amazing. He joyfully exclaimed the word when he didn't follow the directions exactly or created something new from his "mistake." He was happy about it.
I wonder how that could apply to my own life? If I didn't look at my failures as mistakes but instead, how not to do it that way the next time. As a chance for a do-over. A remake. Or a success but not the exact outcome I was looking for. Would I beat myself up as much? Or would I see it as a wonderful learning experience?
Nelson Mandela said, "May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears." I want my actions after an "oops" to reflect my hopes. I don't want to take it as a negative, but a positive in which I learn how to do it better the next time. Whether it's cooking, writing, or a relationship, I think this is quite applicable. So, turn your "oopsies" into something amazing.
Have you ever had a mistake turn out better than the original intention? Leave me an email or comment on social media.
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