Learn the lesson, forget the pain

One time I picked my son up from preschool on my bicycle. I put him on the back of the bike and started home… we were having so much fun until his foot got caught in the gear magazine and deeply gashed. We had to rush him to the emergency room… luckily there was no long term damage.

Immediately I knew it was such a stupid thing to do. I caused my boy untold pain because I hadn’t thought one step forward to potential consequences. I was the worst parent and worst human I could imagine. Who would do such a thing? How could I be fit for raising a kid?

I beat myself up pretty bad for a while until somebody told me a golden piece of advice:

Learn the lesson. Forget the pain.

I wish I could remember who said it to me, the name will not receive the proper credit.

I’m a kind of person who is always pushing, always trying to improve, try new things, explore new boundaries. And along the way I make mistakes. I’ve made a lot of mistakes - thankfully most of them aren’t as bad as the bicycle accident, but they all hurt. They hurt my pride, my pocketbook, my relationships, my health.

I have a golden rule now that allows me to grow thoughtfully, allows me to make mistakes and recover from them gracefully. I just learn the lesson and never repeat it. Then keep moving forward.