Make Mistakes

Then repeat, repeat, repeat.

Last weekend we had friends for dinner and I was making the chiffon cake I made for my birthday for dessert. While separating the eggs, I accidentally dropped one of the yolks into the whites. I caught it but not before it broke, leaving a little yolk in the bowl. When making meringue, even just a little bit of yolk can prevent the egg whites from whipping up properly. I knew this, but it had never actually happened to me. So I proceeded anyway to see what would happen.

The cake was a complete failure. Inedible.

The "Mistake Cake"

I re-made it (using pristine egg whites) and it was a beauty.

Round no.2

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It’s easy to get caught up with being perfect all the time, but mistakes are an opportunity for your brain to learn and something we should actively pursue.

My husband Aaron has fabulous advice on how to make more of them:

I like to think of Mistake Making as little shortcuts on a journey to mastery. Few things help you internalize a procedure, concept or skill faster and more effectively than a legitimate mistake made in earnest.

To optimize the frequency and usefulness of your mistakes:

Start doing one thing - The mistakes aren't going to make themselves. You need to be the one making the mistake to maximize its learning potential. Thinking, researching, preparing, planning or watching someone else do the one thing is not the same as doing the one thing.

Do the one thing over and over again - In the beginning you will probably make mistakes often. As you become competent doing the one thing mistakes may appear to happen less frequently. Do not be tempted to stop. Keep going. Most likely you are still making mistakes but they are more subtle and nuanced, requiring a deeper level of expertise to identify. Think of this repetition as probing your Mastery for weaknesses.

Evaluate The Mistake - Take an objective look at the mistake, remembering that while you may have made the mistake - the mistake is not of you. In the beginning it is likely that most of your mistakes will be logistical/procedural, easy to spot and easy to remedy. As you progress you may find your mistakes to be of a more strategic or conceptual kind. Take a good hard look at these mistakes - as they may actually be opportunities....