I’ll be the first to admit that I’m pretty competitive. I like to win and I like to be the best.

However, in games, like in life, that doesn’t always happen. I’m human. I mess up. I make mistakes. And many times, the hardest critic of my own actions and slipups is me.

I messed up the other day. What happened isn’t super important, but it set off a catalyst for a few other things to mess up. I nursed my bad mood the rest of the evening and didn’t feel any better when I went to bed. As a result, I woke up the next day still feeling off. I had to take some time and some self-evaluation and be like “Okay you messed up. Take the L, brush it off, and try again.”

I spent the weekend recharging in different ways that are beneficial for me, like spending time with friends and being productive in housework, and the problem that I had nursed on Thursday was a minor thing by Monday.

Yes it sucked that it happened in general. But I constantly have to remind myself to suck it up, take the L, and move on. I believe every experience is a learning opportunity, and I learned not to do that again.

My favorite teacher used to say “Don’t make mountains out of molehills”. This means “don’t make the problem bigger than it is.” I definitely made my problem bigger than it needed to be on Thursday. And it took me longer to move past it.

This can apply to lots of situations. Maybe you screwed up at your job, maybe your grades are dropping in school, maybe you got let go, or maybe it’s something else. Whatever mistakes happen in your life, it’s important to take the L and move on. And I don’t say that to diminish feelings or anything. I don’t want problems swept under the rug. Rather, feel your emotions, recognize why you feel that way, work through it, and continue on.

Growth isn’t linear. It’s not even a circle. Instead, it’s an unknown path that you won’t know until you walk it. Sometimes it’s 3 steps forward and 2 steps back. Growth is more about improving your mindset rather than it is about forward progress.

I’m not perfect. And even though I attempt to strive for it, that is a completely unattainable standard because no person is perfect. I make mistakes just like everyone else.

I’m still working on this. It’s a journey rather than just a single step. But I share my thoughts with you in the hopes that you can relate and be seen in my words. I call myself out when I mess up and have people who will call me out too. I process a lot, but I’ve gotten a lot better about not besting myself up about it. So these final words are as much a reminder to me as they are to you: take the L, dust yourself off, and try again.