Was it a Mistake or an Experiment?
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
The same object, feeling, experience, argument, task or opportunity can be framed from a number of different perspectives and some frames are better than others in helping us achieve our goals as artists.
According to Encarta World English Dictionary, a mistake is an incorrect, unwise, or unfortunate act or decision caused by bad judgment or a lack of information or care.
An experiment, on the other hand, is a test carried out in order to discover whether a theory is correct or what the results of a particular course of action would be.
When things don’t go how we expected or hoped they would, we have a choice:
• If we view what happened through the “Mistake” frame, we often get discouraged and lose hope.
• If we perceive the same event through the “Experiment” frame, we are not as negative and see it as an inevitable part of the process of finding our way.
I have founded many bands and have learned so many invaluable lessons along the way. I view each of my previous bands as experiments and as such, I am wiser, more self-aware and more positive than I have ever been.
Artist Empowerment isn’t a perfectly smooth ride, it is journey with peaks and valleys ultimately leading us toward the apex of our potential.
How we frame our experiences and how quickly we learn from them is critical to our success.