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Maybe breaking things is good.
Most of us are raised to think that breaking something is a problem. Watch a parent guide their child through a department store china section, and you’ll see what I mean. This mentality sticks with us, too. The other day, my kids were playing with a big ball of homemade slime. They threw it across the kitchen, and little flecks of slime went everywhere. I wasn’t too thrilled, and I may have “expressed my feelings with too much emotion” that was “slightly out of proportion.”
As they cleaned up, I realized that the mess totally triggered a negative reaction. It also occurred to me that we sometimes operate the same way in the workplace. Some of us go out there every day afraid of creating messes or ruffling feathers. This path of safety gives us a unexciting ride that doesn’t accomplish the great impact we’re meant to create.
The truth is that making a mess means progress. Messes bring light to things we didn’t know previously, or at least that we need a reminder of. They nudge us to show that there’s a better approach out there.
Therefore, how we react to the messes around us defines our impact. React negatively to the mistake and you cut off the progress; react positively by dissecting the problem and you’ll find the path forward. On a large scale, a world without messes is a world without growth. It’s vanilla…boring, sterile, and unexciting. That sucks and isn’t fun for anyone.
Now I’m not saying we should all purposefully mess things up for the sake of creating chaos. Nothing good comes from that. I want you to try so hard to improve your world that you accidentally step in it every once-in-a-while. Then, when you do, act graciously and start solving the problem.
If you want to get out there and create your change, you have to be ready to mess some things up along the way. Because creating messes is the difference between greatness and mundane.
Photo by Tom Butler on Unsplash
