Mistakes

"An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field."
  -- Niels Bohr, Danish physicist and Nobel Prize winner

Why are we obsessed with avoiding mistakes? Why do we dread them so much? Why do we do almost anything to not make them?

Maybe it's to save face. Maybe it's to avoid pain. Maybe it's a pride thing. Maybe we're missing the point.

The experts we know and love (in about any field) are those who have made countless mistakes in their various fields. Heck, I wrote a book on all the mistakes I made as a church planter.

Mistakes are not our enemy. I'm NOT saying that need to be our friend. But they are learning opportunities. And they can (and will) help us to become experts... over time.

I suppose the goal is, though, to not keep making the SAME mistakes. Have you actually achieved some sort of proficiency in some area... because of a TON of mistakes made? Care to share? (from sports to small groups...)