There's a book that says everybody poops.
And it's true! Every single person does.
But here's another thing that's just as true —
Everybody makes mistakes. Every single one of you.
The baby learning to walk?
She falls down *dozens* of times.
That's not failing. That's practicing.
The kid learning to read?
He gets words wrong. He sounds them out funny.
That's not embarrassing. That's how reading gets learned.
Your teacher? Makes mistakes.
Your parents? Oh yes. Lots of them.
That person who seems like they have everything figured out?
*Especially* them.
Sometimes when we make a mistake, a funny thing happens in our brain.
We think about it. Then we think about it again.
Then we think about thinking about it.
Round and round it goes.
That's called getting stuck.
And it happens to everyone too.
Here's the biggest secret about being alive —
Are you ready?
Lean in close.
Mistakes are how you learn.
Every. Single. Time.
There is no other way.
You cannot learn to ride a bike without wobbling.
You cannot learn to bake without burning something.
You cannot learn to be a friend without sometimes getting it wrong.
So the next time you make a mistake —
And you will, because you are beautifully, wonderfully alive —
You can say:
"Oh. There it is. My teacher just showed up."
Take a breath.
Be as kind to yourself as you would be to your best friend.
And try again.
The end.
(Which is also always a beginning.)
For every human who has ever been hard on themselves — which is every human.