Have you ever seen something in the store that looked so simple and thought you could just do it yourself only to find out later that you should have just bought it anyways? Well you are not alone and hopefully I’m not alone in this either.
As a DIYer, I find myself picturing and imagining something in my head to be so beautiful and simple, but then when trying to actually produce that same product, things don’t seem to go the same way. I really could start beating myself up as this seems to happen quite a bit at times.
But what I must remind myself is that IT IS OKAY TO MESS UP. And you should know the same thing too. There is no shame in making mistakes over and over and over again.
I have heard it said so many times that what doesn’t count is how many times you mess up but how you actually respond to that failure that really matters. No matter how much we have heard this, it doesn’t change the fact that it is true.
We learn so much from failing no matter how much it sucks. It would be so much easier for everything to be perfect and successful the first time, but just imagine how weak everyone would be. Failures make us stronger.
Throughout all of history and mankind, so many brilliant people before us failed and failed miserable when trying something for the first time and many times after that. The lesson is that they learned from the failures and would have never known and discovered new things without failing first.
I must remind myself that the things that frustrate me and that I fail at sometimes are just small and honestly are not worth getting so upset about to begin with. We must remember and count our blessings instead of staying and dwelling on the negative.
Several different DIY projects come to mind where my plans didn’t go as originally planned and ended up costing me more money, time, sweat, stress, etc. than what I had ever planned on in the future.
I have seen cornhole sets in the store and at parties before and always thought it would be so much fun for me and Mark to have our own cornhole toss to play with friends and family at cook-outs. So with the DIY mind that I have, I just knew that Mark and I could build and decorate our own set with no problem. On top of that, I wanted to share it with all my wonderful readers. (Seemed like a good idea at first-honestly.)
Little did I know, it turned out to be a harder and more advanced project for my lack of carpentry skills than what I had expected. Several trips were spent going back to the store to get more and different supplies.
Once the set was actually built, it came time to decorate which I just knew would be a piece of cake since I love to paint and craft so much. I found out real quick that I was no master at stenciling and ended up ruining the top of the beautiful set when my paint ran and smeared right under the stencil. (I wish I would have taken pictures of the mistakes now, but at the time I couldn’t do anything but freak out.) The picture below shows the stencil I had placed before I actually tried to paint with it.
I went into panic mode because I didn’t have a clue what else to do and our cook-out was the next day which meant time was not on our side either. After taking a break from the chaos, I am happy to say that we figured out another solution, and I couldn’t be happier with how they turned out.
We ended up with a beautiful project and really learned so much about each other while in the process. Til this day, I have to say that this cornhole set was about much more than being able to put some wood and screws together but more about team-building and a lesson in marriage.
There are lessons I learned that day that will forever change my life and come back to my memory often even until today:
It is okay to mess up.
How you respond to failure is what matters most.
Failure makes us stronger.
We learn from our failures.
Count your blessings instead.
The next time things don’t go just as you expect, try to take a deep breath and just enjoy the moment knowing that something greater is surely to come. (And yes, I said try. We aren’t perfect and this skill takes a lifetime of practice.)
Enjoy the little things in life which means even the failures too.
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Wow! Love it! It really turned out nice! I am a food blogger, and I have to tell you that if I wrote a post for every time my recipe did not turn out, I could have another blog, maybe call it, “How Not to Cook”! It happens so often, but in my head it should turn out perfect. I get so aggravated!! I love your five lessons, and I am going to try to remember to remember them, especially the fourth one, We Learn from our Failures! Great post!
I love this post. I do the same thing – get an idea in my head and think it’ll be easy then I get started and think, “Wow, what was I thinking!” Sometimes I can turn it into something good, but different than my expectations, and other times I have to write it off as a wash. It’s hard to face failure, but you’re right that nothing is gained without it.
Thank you so much! It’s good to know that I’m not the only one who messes up and has to start over. Isn’t it funny how things go through our heads perfectly when we are dreaming it up and then somehow we forget the little details that are actually really big and important?
Thanks for sharing a little bit ‘behind the scenes’ of your blog. You encouraged me. My sisters and I started a blog just over three months ago. While we have had a lot of fun with our little infant blog, we have learned a LOT in a short amount of time. It’s kind of hard getting started and learning how to fail gracefully.
Your corn hole boards look fabulous, by the way. Good job persevering through the difficulties.
You are so welcome! I hope I encouraged you to keep going and not quit. My blog is now about 1 1/2 years old and I can honestly look back now and see what a difference and how far I have come. I’m so glad I didn’t give up when I felt like it. I will definitely be checking out your blog too.
I’m glad you liked them. That project really taught me and my husband a lot about ourselves and our relationship. I love how they turned out and being able to play with them every year. Plus I hope the steps break it down and make it easier for everyone to know they can do it too.
Thank you so very much for sharing this! It helps to put everything in perspective. And it’s a great reminder that real life isn’t perfect! 🙂
You are so welcome! I am so glad that it helped you out. I have to remind myself of this constantly.