I don’t know how many of you have any scars of significance on your body. Maybe that scar is the result of a childhood accident? A major surgical procedure? Maybe you’ve had it most of your life and you haven’t really thought of it, well, until now.
My scar is mostly like that. Most of the time I hardly notice it. It’s been with me for 25 years, so it’s really a part of who I am.
I can thank my zealousness as a child for this particular scar. I was nine. My brother got a new bike on his 12th birthday, so of course little sis had to follow him on down the road as he tested out this new gift. I followed him so well that when he abruptly stopped, my front wheel slammed into his back wheel a little too perfectly.
I went flying through the air – great for professional acrobats, not so great for little kids.
Granted, this accident could have been much worse but it was still bad enough that it resulted in a two and a half inch-long gash (when wrist met bicycle reflector during a nasty landing!) requiring 12 stitches.
Most of us have physical scars. Even now, though I don’t typically think about it, a quick glance at that former gash can remind me of that autumn day. These are scars of experience.
And some scars are not etched so much on our bodies as they are in our minds.
I think we all acquire emotional scars throughout our professional lives. Most from wounds inflicted by experience, or via the scrapes and collisions encountered in relationships and failures.
Much like the faint white line on my wrist, that I only notice every rare once in awhile, there are scars in my mind that bubble to the surface of my emotion from time to time.
There is the regret over a client relationship ended with less grace than I should have shown.
Or the resentment over a colleague who was disloyal.
Perhaps there’s the jealousy of having been passed over for a promotion.
As painful as it can be in the moment to be scarred, either mentally or physically, don’t just live with the experience. Learn from it. Likewise, don’t be paralyzed by the episode. I did, after all, eventually get back on that bike.
It’s been said time and time again – “moderation” is key. Let experience be your teacher, not your undertaker. Sometimes we have to skin our knees a few times on the path to success.
Don’t be so fearful of making new scar-producing mistakes that you don’t act or take any risks.
Do more than “wear” your scars – otherwise, you’re asking to develop many more scars along the way.
