How to Create Masterpieces from Mistakes
“How many people are completely successful in every department of life? Not one. The most successful people are the ones who learn from their mistakes and turn their failures into opportunities.” Zig Ziglar
Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder
When my children were young, they would bring home art projects from school that I thought were masterpieces. There were times I was not sure exactly what the picture represented, but it was a masterpiece. The colors may have been outside of the lines…but it was a masterpiece. I framed some of the pictures because I thought they were really good. Today, my children ask me “why do you like that?” or “why did you frame this picture it is horrible?” and I would say, “because it is a masterpiece in my eyes.” And I truly believe it.
The phrase “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is so true. What you may see as a mistake, someone else sees as an opportunity. What you see as a failure, someone else sees as a masterpiece.
Have you ever watched the blooper real to a movie or tv show? On New Year’s Eve, our local news channel would run a blooper real of the reporter’s goofs and mistakes they made when recording news stories from that year. What happens, we laugh so much at the bloopers. What they considered mistakes, bad stories, missed lines, etc., we laugh at. Their mistakes are masterpieces for us because it causes us to laugh. We don’t see the blooper real the same way they do.
"The irony is that we attempt to disown our difficult stories to appear more whole or more acceptable, but our wholeness - even our wholeheartedness - actually depends on the integration of all of experiences including the falls." Brené Brown (from her book “Rising Strong”)
CREATE A “DO OVER”
Have you ever wanted to do a “do over?” You may have done bad on a school test … “do over.” You said something you wish you never said … “do over.” You made a bad investment … “do over.” You are not where you want to be … “do over.” Truth be told, some of your best successes are or will be born out of your mistakes (or lessons) … so create a “do over” that builds upon what you learned. Just like the potter with the clay, when they are creating something, they keep working at it. If the sides of the jar fall as it is spinning on the potter’s wheel, they don’t throw the clay against the wall and call it a failure. They turn that “oops” into something beautiful. It may be the mug you drink your coffee from, the vase you put your flowers in or a plate you eat your meal on. Create a “do over” and see what happens.
YOU ARE A MASTERPIECE…Let’s Start Creating It!
YOU WILL MAKE MISTAKES – Mistakes happen. If you hear that someone was an overnight success…. you should dig deeper. Chances are that overnight success was a 20-year journey filled with valleys and mountain tops; mistakes; missteps, frustrations and blood, sweat and tears. Masterpieces are a mixture of hard work, willpower, determination, and failures. Mistakes are your best teachers. Each perceived mistake can be the secret key to open a specific door into your future. Be brave to let go of the missteps and take hold of the next opportunity.
CREATE SOMETHING NEW - Instead of picking up the same pieces that created the “ruined life,” I urge you to look at what is left from the lesson learned and create something new from it. In other words, you may have to pick up the pieces to restart your life in some area: job, marriage, relationships, finances, etc. You may find yourself doing better the second time around because of the lessons learned. Chefs can turn a mistake in a recipe around just by adding new ingredients or spices.
FLIP IT – Change your mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. (refer to Mindset picture)
RAISE THE BAR AND DEFINE YOUR PURPOSE - What do you want? What do want to do? Who do you want to be? What kind of life do you want? Set your mindset and goals back to your purpose. As Tony Robbins shares, “Imagine yourself old and gray – what will you regret about your life? Those are your inspirations to achieve greatness.”
FACE YOUR FEARS - Conquer your fear of failure by developing an overcomer mindset. It is not a mindset of denial of the reality around you, but a mindset that you can overcome the fear: fear of success, fear of failure, fear of embarrassment etc. Conquer limiting beliefs cemented in fear with an empowering mindset.
BELIEVE AGAIN - Your first steps as a toddler had falls, scrapped knees and tears and then you got back up! You didn’t think twice about it. You were encouraged to get back up. The same is true with all of our life experiences. Believe again with your child-like faith. Your “mistakes” are your learning process. They are the teacher for the lessons that are crossing your path each day.
GLEAN FROM OTHERS – Watch and learn from others. They have valuable lessons which will make you wiser. Don’t repeat their mistakes…. you will make enough of your own but pay attention to the lessons in front of you.
GET UNSTUCK – If you feel stuck, then there may be a decision you need to make that you have been avoiding. It is time to move in the direction of your masterpiece by getting out of your comfort zone, getting out of the boat and moving!
All of the steps listed above will help you turn mistakes into masterpieces if you don’t give up. We are all a work in progress. And it is not just one masterpiece you create, but many MASTERPIECES over your lifetime!
“Mistakes are painful when they happen, but years later a collection of mistakes is what is called experience.” —Denis Waitley
“The person interested in success has to learn to view failure as a healthy, inevitable part of the process of getting to the top.” Dr. Joyce Brothers
![This quote about the mosaics reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures found in Philippians 1:6 (Amplified Classic) “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”God creates MASTERPIECES and one of them is YOU! He takes the broken pieces and creates something beautiful you never thought could come from it. Don’t give up on this wonderful journey you are on!](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5f510f0105776345600abdc1/1631677077758-MNBT8CQ83H33SCO3MDK1/masterpiece10+mosaic.JPG)
This quote about the mosaics reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures found in Philippians 1:6 (Amplified Classic) “And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.”
God creates MASTERPIECES and one of them is YOU! He takes the broken pieces and creates something beautiful you never thought could come from it. Don’t give up on this wonderful journey you are on!