The Misadventure Mindset
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “Misadventure” as bad luck, a mishap, or misfortune—an ill-conceived, misguided, or regrettable enterprise, an adventure that turns out badly.
I believe life’s misadventures help us grow and become the best versions of ourselves we possibly can be. Nothing builds brain cells (neurogenesis and neuroplasticity) like learning new skills, and jumping in is the fastest way to learn how to swim. After all, being brave doesn't mean you aren’t scared; it simply means you do it anyway.
I propose redefining misadventure as brave strategic failures for continuous progress, not perfection.
This photo was taken after overcoming my fear of heights by maneuvering a wobbly water irrigation system and gives me the motivation to heal from my recent spinal injury and surgery.
Failure, when embraced, can be a great teacher. Not only does making mistakes and learning from them help you do things correctly, but it also softens your ego and helps you realize there are always several ways to get things done. When someone thinks their way is the best (or only way) to achieve their task, they fail to see the advantage of other people’s viewpoints and that there is always more than one way to cook an egg.
After the past two years of “misadventuring,” I have learned this fundamental truth: doing your best has merit, but how you get there is just as important, if not more so, as the end result. We must not be afraid of failure. Failure helps you learn in ways that winning does not.
Don’t fear the fall; the human body and mind can do more than you think. How will you know what you’re capable of if you never try?
This photo documents my well-earned battle scars after navigating between two narrow boulders, with a canal on one side and a cliff on the other, during the bike journey to the above-water irrigation system. This was also my first time on an e-bike and towing a wheeled cart on a bike.
The Disappointing Root of Perfectionism
Many of us strive for perfection. It’s not entirely our fault, as various factors such as the education system, upbringing, genetics, and societal expectations encourage us to avoid mistakes. “Beginner's luck” and getting things “right off the bat” also flood us with dopamine. This thrill of achieving instant success can become quite addictive.
If we are being honest, for me, avoiding mistakes is an excellent defense mechanism. I research, study and plan before everything, from meetings to travel, to avoid criticism or to competitively feel like I am more prepared than someone else. If there’s a chance of making a mistake, odds are I will likely procrastinate the task or even avoid doing it altogether.
Growth Mindset
I have recently adopted a philosophy of progressively enhanced failure, and I encourage you to do the same. I first discovered Carol Dweck’s “growth mindset” concept while building digital educational platforms for parents and teachers in America’s classroom, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Carol says our mindset shapes whether we believe we can learn, change, and grow. There are two types of mindsets: fixed and growth. Those with a fixed mindset believe they have innate abilities in certain areas but cannot improve in others. In contrast, those with a growth mindset believe they can excel in any skill or talent with enough effort.
Perfect is the Enemy of Good
To clarify, I believe that it's unnecessary to learn something from scratch and reinvent the wheel every time, and it's wise to build upon the efforts of others. However, it's important not to let the pursuit of perfection hinder progress toward achieving something good.
The Pareto principle says 80% of a task can be completed in just 20% of the total time, while the remaining 20% of the task takes up 80% of the effort. Since achieving complete perfection may be unattainable, putting in more than 80% results in diminishing returns, making it an inefficient use of your time.
Some of you might be thinking that final effort is the most important part, and can be the difference between done and not done, or good and great. There are times this might be true, but starting is better than not starting. Also, we humans tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in a short amount of time and underestimate what we can achieve with micro improvements over a long period of time.
A great example of this for me is cooking, something I was never good at when I was younger. But you know what happens after cooking a steak too much, with too much salt or not a high enough heat? You Goldie Lox the shit out of it until cooking your perfect steak becomes second nature. I have friends who still don’t know how to cook because they are afraid of messing up in the kitchen. If this is you, just plan to have extra time, extra ingredients and a lotta grace.
Okay, it’s 2:30 am, and I desperately need rest to heal from this discectomy surgery. TLDR; Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and use them as learning opportunities. Go forth, make mistakes, and prosper.