A creative mistake

Today I am sharing a lovely post published by Marilyn Warner on her blog Things I Want To Tell My Mother. Her post Ooops! is just a short one but it includes some mighty fine reminders:
• that mistakes can become successes if one doesn’t give up
• that mistakes are only failures if one chooses them to be

The ability to accept mistakes as inevitable, and to embrace the messages in them as stepping stones to success are important attitudes for learning at any stage. (And as Marilyn says, we are not talking here about life-changing, heart-breaking mistakes with tragic consequences, just the little ones that can be redefined if we don’t give up.)

Enjoy!

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your feedback. Please share your thoughts about this post.

Things I Want To Tell My Mother

It would be a mistake to hire a 4-year-old to be your carpenter. Cute, maybe, but still a mistake. (Pictures by Marylin Warner)

Using the wrong fork is embarrassing, but it’s a minor mistake.

Texting or speeding and driving the wrong way can be a very serious mistake.

Years ago, before my dad’s Alzheimer’s and my mother’s dementia, they were included in a tour of one of the 3M facilities. When I asked how they’d liked it, my dad told me details from a businessman’s perspective. My mom’s perspective was different.

She remembered ACM—the initials of Acrylate Copolymer Microspheres—from the tour. She nicknamed them “A Creative Mistake,” and they became an inspiration.

In 1968 3M intended to create a super strong adhesive for the aerospace industry. But there was a mistake in the plan, and the end result was an incredibly weak product. Years later, the reworked mistake became Press’n…

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8 thoughts on “A creative mistake”

Bec June 5, 2015 at 6:56 pm

Thanks for sharing this great post – such a wonderful way to view experiences, and to think “we” spend so much time crinkling our foreheads and writing our hands about silly little things that in the scheme of life don’t matter.

I’m glad the armadillo was okay! Who shoots an armadillo!?

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Norah Post authorJune 6, 2015 at 10:48 am

Exactly! That was a big oops! I hope they don’t all get shot before I see one. They look very cute. 🙂
I’m pleased you enjoyed the post. Thanks for commenting. 🙂

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Marylin Warner May 30, 2015 at 1:50 am

Thank you, Norah. Ooops! is a post close to my heart–and experience, too, as I make plenty of mistakes–and I appreciate your responses to this.

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Norah Post authorMay 31, 2015 at 8:58 pm

Thank you Marylin – close to my heart and experience too! I am pleased to be able to share your post. 🙂

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