Oopsie Daisy: Live and Learn

Sometimes the only way to learn is to mess up. To do the wrong thing. To jump in and attempt to figure it out. To live and learn.

My brain may be developed—at least my frontal lobe is—but neuroscientists have made the radical discovery of neuroplasticity. Our brains can develop and create new neural pathways until we die. In that case, it behooves us to make mistakes, to take chances, to make the wrong choice. Sometimes that is the only way to grow.

Do you want to stay young? Skip the face creams and the botox. And just make a wallop of a mistake. You will feel like a kid again.

Watching the last season of the show Hacks, there is a scene with Deborah Vance and her friend Marty who are both in their 70s. Marty has just been left at the altar and he wonders how he could have been so stupid. But Deborah has a different perspective. She thinks it is extraordinary to continue to take risks at their age. Their desire to keep trying new things is what keeps the show entertaining and relatable. Their messing up, falling down, and trying again keep us coming back each week.

Personally, I want to keep figuring things out, to keep learning. I want to surround myself with people I can learn from and who have a desire to learn as well. I want to laugh at my mistakes. Not take myself so seriously. To know that I am epically human.

I want my mantras to be:

“Oopsie daisy”

“Oh well”

“Good try”

Even as I am getting older and wiser, there is no way to know everything. Maybe the purpose of life is to keep putting ourselves out there. Showing up. Trying our best—whatever that means. And passing along what we learn to the next generation so they can go on to make new mistakes of their very own.