Another ‘Take’?

The movie industry understands the concept of ‘Another take’ as they try again and again to shoot each scene until they get it right. This is a lesson for how we do life.

While we only have ‘One take’ in that we only have ‘One life’ to live, we have the opportunity to take many ‘repeat shots’ along the way.

This means, we get to look at mistakes as an opportunity to have another go. A couple of mistakes come to mind as I write this post.

I remember a time when I needed to catch a train from London to Southend-on-sea. I ran for my connection and got there out of breath. I sat down, glad that I had managed to catch it and excited that I would get to the office sooner than expected.

You can only imagine my surprise when the train pulled away from the station but I wasn’t  on it. I was sat in a coach that had been de-coupled from the front part of the train.

This was a worthwhile lesson that preceded years of work related travels. It was the only time I had to learn that lesson and I’m glad it happened when it did. It could have happened on a day when I was travelling for a job interview or trying to make an international flight connection.

Another mishap happened on a different trip to London. I was running late due to an earlier train being delayed. I got to my platform just as the train was pulling in at the exact time my train was scheduled to leave.

I jumped on to the train, got out my cereal and fruit bowl and settled myself down for breakfast.

To my surprise, as the train pulled out of the station, I heard the conductor call out the stops and soon realised the train wasn’t going to London. All thoughts of breakfast left as I went into a mini panic mode.

The only thing I could do was get off at the first stop and retrace my way back to catch the next London train. I spoke to the conductor who confirmed the trains were running late so the train I had jumped on had pulled on to the London platform at the scheduled time.

As I settled down to eat what was no longer an enjoyable breakfast, I had no option but to make the best of a bad situation. When I got off at the first stop, I had a good hour to kill in a tiny station.  

I ran into an elderly lady at the station and we got talking. I shared my predicament and she told me about herself.

Her children had given her an iPhone but she didn’t have a clue how to use it. I spent the next hour  showing her how it works and encouraging her about the personal challenges she shared with me.

By the time my train came, I felt fulfilled, knew I had added value to her life and the lady looked at me and said, “You thought you caught the wrong train, but you came here for me”.

All the mayhem of the morning proved to be worth it and my project team had a good laugh when I eventually got to London.

As I am reminded of these mistakes, I am also reminded that they weren’t the end of the world, I learnt valuable lessons and I was able to laugh at myself.

As you start a new week, think about mistakes you’ve made and the lessons you learnt.

Give yourself a break and remember someday, you will look back, hopefully have a laugh and you will have a story to tell.

Your mistakes are blessings in disguise and someone else could end up being glad you made them so they don’t have to. Learn to appreciate mistakes – yours and other people’s.

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