Have a growth mindset. If you are unwilling to fuck up, you are unwilling to grow.

Because of the negative connotations associated with fuck ups (aka making mistakes), many people fear them, and this fear leads to our avoiding doing things that are outside of our comfort zone. While making fuck ups might be scary, fear is a wonderful indicator that we are doing new things, moving into new areas, and undertaking new challenges. In this way, fear is a good thing, as it means that we are still growing, we are still alive. Arguably, if we are not experiencing some element of fear it means that we are stagnating . . . try to see fear as an indicator of growth and welcome it.

"Anyone who has never made a mistake fucked up, has never tried anything new.” - Albert Einstein

Fuck ups help us land in a place of teachability, a place in which we’re more receptive to new influences and perspectives. Call it necessity or humble pie. They help us to remember that all of our efforts, whatever they come to or don’t come to, are how we know we are seizing our chance to play the game of life each day. The more passionately we play, the more we get out of it. But that invariably means more, not fewer, screw-ups and errors, that at the moment might seem of colossal proportion.

“You don't learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.” - Richard Branson

But remember, there is a big difference between fucking up and being a fuck up.

Fucking up: Not being afraid to take risks that have limited downside. Starts with taking a calculated risk and ends with you being better at your job than you you were before you took that risk. The outcome of your actions is not what was desired, but outcomes are a little bit better going forward because of the experience.

Being a fuck up: Lacking ownership over what you do and making the same mistakes over and over. Usually this comes from being afraid to ask questions, lazy and assumptive or just being in a rush to “do things” and in turn not being present in your work.

How we react to our mistakes, not getting defensive or explaining them, but instead turning them into a growth opportunity is what defines our long-term success.

Some good fuck ups VS bad fuck ups

Scenario 1: You just got promoted and now have 5x more work.

Bad Fuck Up: You work harder and faster. And end up making some mistakes in your work because you’re trying to do too much.