The beauty of stumbling

As much as we prefer to forget those moments when we mess up, reflecting on them can be very good for us and insightful. Journalist Caroline Buijs looks at the benefits of stumbling. 

Stumbling and falling are not only part of childhood – they are part of adulthood, too, though not always in the literal sense. Stumbling also means not passing an exam, having your heart broken or discovering that a new project you’ve taken on just isn’t working out. It’s choosing a university major but finding out it doesn’t suit you after you’ve started, or enrolling in an art class but not going back after the first two lessons because the teacher intimidates you.

Stumbling can be speaking to a large audience and watching people’s attention drift, or snapping at your children in the morning just before they leave for school and then feeling bad about it all day. Stumbling is simply part of daily life, and with a bit of luck you learn something from it, you learn what is the wrong way to do something.