Well, I’ve tried a lot of new things and, as a result, have made quite a few mistakes. Some mistakes have been large and embarrassing, such as the time (as a small child) I tried to jump over a low-hanging velvet rope separating me from the Easter Bunny at JC Penney. I tripped and pulled down the entire section amidst loud crashing, shouts of surprise, and not a little laughter from the onlookers. I hid and cried until someone found me (they were still laughing) and soothed my wounded pride. My mistake was not so much about stepping out of line, but more about stepping higher.

The problem most of us have with trying new things or pushing boundaries, is that we are worried about making some horrible, spectacular mistake. However, if we let the fear of making a mistake stop us from doing something outside our comfort zone, we stop growing and learning. Riding horses might be a fearful prospect, but the joy of galloping through a meadow with the sun shining down on you cannot be adequately described and, to those of us who have done it, it is well worth the possibility of falling off. Jumping out of a plane is not something that is very forgiving of mistakes, but the rush people feel while doing it overrides the fear.The biggest mistakes usually garner us more knowledge than the little errors and certainly provide fodder for our fears, but if we take the time to correct our mistakes and try again we may be rewarded with a newfound confidence.

Besides, spectacular mistakes make for great stories, although you may have to wait for the sting to go away before you can laugh at it.