The Blogging Platypus

Every Mistake is a Learning Experience Think about someone in your life or circle of friends who seems to have an overwhelming amount of luck. It may appear like they everything just goes their way. However, if you were to watch them throughout the process of pursuing a goal and achieving it, aside from it being really weird and voyeuristic, you would see that it most likely took several stumbles and failures before finally arriving at the determined goal. If we were to have everything in our lives go the way we wanted, would we be happy? Perhaps, but our goals may be even loftier if we had made a few mistakes along the way. Why? Because each mistake that we make is an opportunity to learn something new. I have made probably a million mistakes over the course of my 42 years and I still make mistakes. I used to be embarrassed when I made an error in something and in school, I placed so much pressure on myself to do everything I could to refrain from making a mistake. The stress of p...

Remember you are water. Cry. Release. Flow. Although the views may be changing, showing emotions openly in society is still a bit of a taboo. When we are young, crying is one of our main methods of communication, as our verbal ability takes a while to develop. We are trained, in a way, that through using our voice, we will eventually get our desired outcome. As we grow older, our cries morph into words and language, but the goal remains the same. As we mature to adulthood, our voice becomes stifled by society and the norms by which we are expected to adhere. However, this also includes part of what makes us compassionate and empathize with our peers and family members. When we are told to refrain from crying or are told that doing so equates with weakness, we prevent an integral aspect of who we are. We feel deeply, yet are told to only show surface feelings. Don’t even get me started on the effect society’s need for stifling emotions has on violence and toxic masculinity… There i...

My Actions and Choices Reflect my Values It is pretty easy to lose track of who you are. Who you really are. We can fall into a pattern of playing the various roles that we think represent who we are, but do they really? We are often tasked with wearing the hats of parent, child, employee, supervisor, friend, and caretaker throughout our lives. When we have to fill so many different roles, it can be easier to put who you are and some of your values on the backburner in order to succeed in whichever goal we are pursuing. While fragmenting who you are to fill a certain role may make it easier, as there are fewer personal barriers that can potentially get in the way of your goals, we risk losing who we are. When our values are not reflected in our actions, it can create a separation between our authentic self and the self we portray to the outside world. This, in turn, can lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, fear, and a sense of feeling lost. Gee, I wonder why stifling who you ar...

Remember You Are Earth. Ground. Build. Give.  Image via Alexandra Levasseur This morning’s affirmation reminds me of one of my favorite practices. As a kid, I was grounded once. But as an adult, I try to get grounded as often as I need. Sure, they are quite different applications of the word grounded , but they share a similar concept. Each type provides a time for quiet reflection and introspection. Okay, it may not sound like something a kid would engage in when they are serving their punishment for getting caught sneaking out, but it may occur on a subconscious level. After all, not being able to go out with friends or talking on the phone can trigger introspection, as the child has a lot more time to pause and think about what they did and why it was wrong. Or, at least that was my experience, as my punishments often included writing an essay on why what I did was wrong. Sure, it may not be effective for all circumstances, but it certainly does give each party, parent...