The Art of Grit

Have you ever looked back on a moment in your life and thought, What a mistake that was! only to later realize it was the very thing that propelled you forward? In those moments, it’s almost as if life had been conspiring to guide us, not away from success, but toward a deeper understanding of it. Mistakes are often judged harshly in the moment, framed by our limited understanding of the present. Yet, some of humanity’s most profound achievements were born from those very “mistakes.”

Salvador Dalí, a master of the surreal, famously said, “Mistakes are almost always of a sacred nature.” There’s something profound in that sentiment—a recognition that what feels like failure may, in fact, be a necessary step toward something remarkable.

Even Bob Ross, with his ever-gentle guidance on The Joy of Painting, encouraged us to embrace what he called “happy accidents.” While guiding his students to create landscapes, he often reminded them that unexpected brushstrokes, unintentional marks, or stray colors weren’t mistakes—they were opportunities. In his words, “We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.” With that reassurance, he turned fear into freedom, transforming potential frustration into artistic bravery and self-expression.

Beyond the Backward Lens

When we call something a mistake, we’re often judging it through the lens of what we know now. Hindsight is a sharp critic—it allows us to assign blame and impose order on a past moment that felt chaotic or unclear. But forward progress requires a different mindset. It demands courage to go beyond what we know, to wander into uncharted territory and make peace with the possibility of failure.

Think about penicillin, the microwave oven, or even the invention of the Post-it note. These breakthroughs weren’t the result of perfect, linear progress. They emerged from happy accidents, unintentional missteps, and courageous leaps into the unknown. The people behind these creations dared to embrace the unexpected, to ask, What if this isn’t a mistake at all? What if it’s an invitation to something new?

It’s worth asking yourself: How many of my so-called mistakes were actually turning points? Maybe it was taking a job that seemed like a bad fit but led you to a skill you never knew you had. Or perhaps it was a relationship that ended painfully but taught you the kind of love you truly deserve. What if those experiences weren’t mistakes but milestones?

The “Sacred” in Mistakes

To call a mistake “sacred” is to imbue it with a kind of reverence. It’s an acknowledgment that the detours, mishaps, and missteps carry hidden wisdom—if only we’re willing to look for it. Dalí’s approach to art reflects this idea. His work didn’t shy away from the absurd or the unconventional. Instead, he leaned into the unpredictable, allowing the unexpected to guide his creativity. Similarly, Bob Ross’s philosophy reminds us that life—like art—should be an exploration, not a rigid adherence to plans.

Could we, in our own lives, adopt this mindset? What would it look like to honor our mistakes as sacred? To see them not as moments of failure but as opportunities to explore, to grow, to create?

Your Sacred “Mistake”

Now, I invite you to reflect. Is there something in your life that felt like a mistake at the time but later turned out to be a winner? Maybe it’s a risk you took, a project that didn’t go as planned, or a conversation you wish you’d handled differently. What did that moment teach you? How did it shape the person you’ve become?

Mistakes are uncomfortable; they disrupt the tidy narrative of our lives. But they also open doors we didn’t know existed. They push us beyond our comfort zones and into the realm of possibility. And in that space—messy, uncertain, sacred—we find not just progress, but purpose.

The next time you find yourself muttering, What a mistake, pause and think of Dalí or Ross. What if it isn’t? What if it’s simply the universe asking you to imagine something new?

And what if you said yes?