Why your mess is the best starting point for the new year
Whether we like it or not, we learn our most unforgettable lessons from our messes and failures. Most of the time though, a lot of us regard mistakes in a negative way. But we can always look at history to see how some of the greatest inventions only came about after many failures and mistakes—the Wright Brothers failed countless times with their flight design before pulling off sustained powered flight; Thomas Edison had to conduct many experiments to find the right filament for the light bulb. Hey, even that favorite book of yours didn’t magically make its way to getting published after just the first draft from its writer.
So how do we let our past messes guide us to innovate and move forward, instead of making us feel discouraged and purposeless? We know it’s not always easy to bounce back from mistakes, but messes teach us many things about ourselves—our skills, our blind spots, our attitude. They also serve as momentum for new years and beginnings if only we always open ourselves to learning from them.
Revisit the past
Nobody likes a play-by-play of their mistakes, the more cringe, the harder it may be to revisit. But if you want to learn from your messes and make them a starting point for being able to begin again, you have to let go of the shame often attached to them. Being willing to look at past mistakes is the first step we need to take, so we can learn from them. It allows us to look at our actions and behavior that led us to making a mess in the first place.
Small business owners have to make a habit of revisiting the past every year. When they prepare their financial reports, review their vendors and marketing efforts, etc. They have to do this to keep their business healthy. It allows them to not repeat the same mistakes or to be able to keep doing what’s working.
In the Mess Fest discussion on small business mistakes, Roma Agsunod of Common Room and Popjunklove, shared some slip-ups they were guilty of when they were starting out and joining bazaars. They ended up not considering the real cost of doing bazaars and learning too late that they couldn’t do everything on their own. There were a lot of things they were not accounting for and they were also losing opportunities from trying to do it all. Looking back at those mistakes made them aware of valuable lessons to keep their small business thriving.
Reframe and analyze
We all make mistakes. We make a mess of things sometimes. Nobody is exempt from this. Reframing how we look at them though—not as something that can be totally avoided but more as opportunities—can minimize our fear of them and ultimately our fear of failure.
It also doesn’t stop there. After you reexamine the way you look at mistakes, analyzing the mistake you made is just as important. What caused it? What were you trying to do? When you understand what happened, it can help guide you in your decisions or in your next move.
When Lala de Leon of Simoy ng Haraya was starting her homemade home scents business, she joined her first bazaar, Yabang Pinoy. It was such a success that it encouraged her to join more bazaars, but they didn’t turn out as successful. “When I was trying to analyze the problem, I realized… Simoy ng Haraya back then was actually a niche brand,” explained Lala in the Mess Fest talk on small business slip-ups. “What people wanted were imported goods, there was not a lot of support for locally-made items back then. So, if I’m a niche brand, why am I present in mainstream bazaars?” This helped her realize where to focus her time and energy to building the brand.
Ask for help
If you find it hard to understand what went wrong or why you keep making the same mistakes, what will help is to, well, ask for help. Reach out to fellow small business owners, makers, artists you trust, or to friends and colleagues to give you honest feedback on your messes and (if you’re ready for it) even suggest improvements.
When you’re too close to something, it’s not always easy to see the holes around it or admit hard truths. But others, particularly those who may be in the same line of work or have gone through a similar journey, can offer a fresh perspective to judge the situation fairly. In this Common Room episode, makers Elly Ang of Danger in Design, Camille Santos of the Outland Creative, and Hannah Armada of Studio Haebi shared how they help each other when it comes to reaching for their goals.
“We keep each other accountable,” said Camille. “I’ve always been an overthinker. I learned from Elly that you shouldn’t really care what other people think. We should really just make things for ourselves. People who like your stuff will find you.”
“It’s hard to be an artist,” added Elly. “How can you not want to keep going when you see your friends going? It’s inspiring.”
Set realistic goals
Once you’ve identified the lessons your past messes have given you, put what you’ve learned into practice. This means you probably need to relearn a different work style or develop new habits. That will take work. Just because you know what went wrong and what you need to do to make it right, doesn’t mean everything will go smoothly, mess-free. Keep that in mind when you’re setting new goals or timelines in order to keep them actionable.
Setting realistic goals also allows you to be kind to yourself. You don’t transform into an expert overnight. So don’t expect to be one. There will still be mistakes, some slip-ups here and there, which means you’re still trying, you’re still setting things in motion. And that’s as good a place as any to get started.