Monday Musings Part Seventeen: Own It

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Own It

 

Last week we looked at knowing what’s yours. Today, I’d like to talk about owning what’s yours. More specifically, facing up to the things you’d rather bury in a deep, dark hole.

We all make mistakes. That’s part of the human condition. Our poor choices don’t define us, but how we correct them. Whether we own up or deny any wrongs we commit.

To make bad decisions is par for the course, but to blame others for those choices is nothing but immature. And to heap guilt onto fallibility is nothing but sheer folly. We don’t need to judge, but just to see.

When we own a mistake, we achieve something far greater than when we attempt to fake perfection.

 In the words of John C Maxwell, ‘A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.’

In the same way that failure can be a stepping stone to success, we don’t need to carry our mistakes around with us. Instead, we can place them under our feet and use them as stepping stones. Better to do that than to cudgel ourselves over the head with it. And remember, life doesn’t come with an instruction book. Most of us make it up as we go along.

Just as we don’t want to hold onto past mistakes, we also need to let go of past successes.Zen Stones for Monday Musings

Yes, I did just say that.

Let me explain. Just because something worked then doesn’t mean it will always work. Life and living beings constantly evolve, change, and grow. To hold onto anything, good or bad, is self-limiting. To insist on something that served you in the past is to carry the raft on your back after you’ve crossed the river. In doing so, you turn a success into a failure.

The law of Karma can be seen from a fear-based perspective or a love-based one. The fear-based version tells you that you reap what you sow, and what goes around comes around. The love-based one sees consequence as a gift that brings lessons for your soul’s growth.

If we live in fear of making mistakes, we will never grow. If we hide from mistakes made, we will never flourish.

In the wise words of Zen:

 

‘You can learn a lot from mistakes when you aren’t busy denying them.’

If you’ve missed my previous Monday Musings, you can find the links here: https://harmonykent.co.uk/category/monday-musings/ 🙂