(*other correction fluids are available)
The concept seems logical enough: cover up the mistake and rewrite it anew as if it was always ‘perfect’. It’s tempting to smooth over errors and eradicate missteps, but what do we learn from that?
As a teacher, I really want to see the spelling you got wrong and then corrected and I love to see the word you crossed out to make a better choice. That’s a joyful process to witness. It’s like watching thinking happen right there on the page.
In life, we are going to make mistakes and we are not going to be able to turn back time and undo them as if they never happened. We may wish for that, but we certainly will not have that wish granted. It’s a rare guarantee. What we learn to do when we allow ourselves to make mistakes is grow through them. We have a chance to learn a better, different way from making a few wrong turns and we evolve from the process.
The desire to hide our mistakes as if they never were there tempts us into pursuing a perfectionism that is not attainable. We don’t fail when we get something wrong; we learn new ways of how to do it differently next time.
So, let’s step away from the Tippex. Get more comfortable with some messy edges and the imperfect output and know that any and every process has mistakes inherently within it – they are part of the beauty of learning, growing and living.
Don’t erase it, embrace it.
