M is for Mistakes

M is for Mistakes

Everyone makes them, right?  I've been told that no one is perfect.  It's hard to believe that when I compare myself to others, though.  There are some character traits and stuff that I really value, and when I meet someone who seems to have be strong in the traits that I value then maybe they seem perfect.  You know the batch of chocolate chip cookies that works out?  They all seem great until you find one that doesn't have as many chocolate chips per bite as what may seem ideal.  So what used to be good perfect, is just a regular cookie.  People are all regular cookies.  Sometimes our chocolate chips are evenly balanced and delicious, sometimes they're missing or spread too thin.  I think I may have plenty of good chips in me but once in a while, I spread them too thin and that makes them look like a less than perfect cookie.

When I make mistakes I'm not the best cookie:

Generally, my less than best self is caused by my brain.  It thinks, and thinks, and thinks and then I believe there are issues where there may not be an issue.  Or, I begin to have victim thoughts about how life could be different.  Turns out, patience is the answer to a lot of my self-made problems.  Other times, my mistakes are caused by procrastination.  "I'll do _______ right after _______."  "I'm going to start doing ________ tomorrow."  "I can just wait ________ out.  It'll take care of itself."

I avoid mistakes by:

If I think about what I just wrote, it sounds like my solution would be less thinking and more action.  That may really be true.  It makes me think of the nights I go to bed at a normal time, all tuckered out from moving all day.  I don't usually feel like a bad cookie on those nights.  But if I have wasted time, or had less than positive interactions, I feel like a cookie with no chocolate chips.

Dealing with cookies who make mistakes:

I get to interact with people whose chocolate chips might be a little out of balance.  They have them, the person just doesn't know it.  Every day seems like acquiring a new taste for cookies with less than the ideal amount of chips.  Now, I'm not saying this just about people at my place of employment.  And, I'm not saying it in a judgmental way.  My chips don't line up very often either and I may be an acquired taste, as well.  There are a lot of nicknames for me that remind me that my chips aren't balanced.  But, the important thing is to remember and find the chocolate chips in every cookie.  If you find the best bites, it makes the rest of the cookie good, too.

For example, I get a phone call every couple of weeks where I get reamed out for a variety of reasons.  It's difficult to not retaliate or repay them in kind.  Instead, I just think about this person's chocolate chips, why this cookie is frustrated enough to be speaking this way, and then remind them that their chocolate chips will pay off.  But other times, you just have to think about the chocolate chips to yourself while cookies mistreat you.  That's when perspective, endurance, and patience really pays off.

Moving past mistakes:

Getting chocolate chips in balance takes action and patience.  They can't move themselves and no one can rearrange my chocolate chips for me.  Just today, I tried to talk to someone about being responsible for their own path and choices.  With everything I said, I heard blaming as a response.  Well, I'm responsible for me and my own cookies (children), and together we're gonna learn how to balance out our chocolate chips and to find the chocolate chips in others.  I'm under the impression that I've gotta incorporate more patience and a lot more action.

This may be the weirdest post I've ever written, but I just needed to think some things out.  I relate to cookies pretty well.  I'm still imagining a plate of cookies with varying amounts of chocolate in each bite, but I still know how to appreciate each cookie.  And, I know a lot of people with varying amounts of traits and qualities I value and I know how to appreciate them, too.