Dang! ...I hit the wrong button!

Mistakes make us stronger and our craft better. The more mistakes we make, the more we learn… or should.

Jul 22, 2024

Sure, there is an intelligence capacity at play, but even a vine can learn the path that is dangerous to it and seek safe climbing. I see it every time I tackle the rainforest jungle that is my yard.

By objectively examining our mistakes, we make discoveries that improve our design and methodology. Screw-ups also give us insight to our chosen medium, whether it be wood, metal, paint, fabric, musical chords or words.

Artistic mediums and tools are not shy about telling you how they want to behave. Reactionary wood will resist ripping on a table saw. Paints and finishes will dry differently at different temperatures and humidity levels. Candle waxes have a variety of melting points and a vast array of additives and pigments to make it suitable to your work. It is up to us to recognize them and work within their limitations.

“There's no success like failure, and failure’s no success at all.”

~ Bob Dylan in Love Minus Zero ~

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Help is only a click away…

Education is the process by which we learn what our forebears found out by trial and error. Never before in history has so much information been available to us. At our fingertips (or a voice command to a virtual assistant) answers and methods are now readily available on a portable device that fits in our pocket. The internet of things allows us to tap into a collective knowledge of practically EVERYTHING, so we need not start from scratch every time we want to try something new for ourselves.

Faced with hunger and only mushrooms available to eat, we can now research which ones are safe and healthy and those which will send us to Alice’s table in Wonderland, or kill us dead. The people that survived (and/or stayed sane) through their experiments were nice enough to tell others, who have passed it down to us. The same is true with any process you are working on.

Natural Talent

Whether we believe it stems from reincarnation, lucky genetic coding or formative early learning opportunities, we are all capable of a certain degree of talent. However our learning and physical dexterity develops, some are more adept to certain skills than others.

We are not locked into our natural abilities. It should not hold us back from learning about other things that interest us. We have free-will. It is this drive that allows mastery over art, athleticism, engineering and design.

“If you do something 10,000 times you are a master of it.”, they say.

I must add “...and continually improve…” into that statement. Because, if you do something 10,000 times badly, you are simply a moron that should be taught to do something else. Practice does help in most situations, but some things just aren’t suited to certain individuals.

I love music and I think I have a good ear for it, but every time I have ever tried to learn to play an instrument, I have failed utterly. I am now okay with that and can still enjoy music, knowing in my mind that I can play like a MF virtuoso. The gift just doesn't translate and travel to my digits.

But I can build a decent sounding guitar…

Don’t Be Afraid

Fear of trying something new is really just fear of failing at it. You cannot confirm failure without giving it a fair go. You may not become a master at it (or even good at it), but if learning the basics helps further other talents, it is well worth the effort. Even utter failure will help you through the process of eliminating it from your repertoire.

In woodworking, the difference between adequate skills and mastery is the ability to deal with mistakes so that they are not seen, or if they are visible contribute to the overall gestalt of the piece. Wood is a wonderful but imperfect medium with so many variants in species, grain patterns, knots, coloring and unseen checking. It can be frustrating to spend a couple hours cutting dovetails in a $50 piece of Cocobolo, only to have a “blow-out’ on the last one. You must know how to correctly fix it. This is mastery. It has taken me years to learn how certain woods behave with the tools on hand and how they hold up to real life use after finishing.

As with most arts, in woodworking there are quite a few methods of achieving the same desired outcome. The techniques you use depend on your skill level with the tools you have available and the speed you can do them that will fit within your hourly shop rates. There is no cheating. There is no best way to accomplish a task. While hand tools can seem like an anachronism in the shop, they can be the most effective in certain processes, with a Zen-like benefit to your crafting soul. Conversely, electric tools properly set up can alleviate monotony and speed production up so that you can concentrate on the more artistic aspects.

My chopsticks have become quite popular. At first glance, you would assume they were turned on a lathe. I do have a small lathe, but I have by no means mastered its potential. To do so, I would have to spend a few thousand hours and quite a few board feet of perfectly good lumber practicing. I do not have the time to spend and hardwood prices have become quite dear. So, I have developed a quicker method of shaping these with less risk of screwing them up.

Since 99% of my work is personalized, my most common mistakes involve spelling or I select the wrong species. Sometimes it is the clients fault, but mostly the mistakes are mine. Who knew there were so many ways to spell Chris? I can usually turn them into samples that I sell in my “Ready-Made” section on Etsy and sell them at a modest discount.

Mistakes create opportunities to be inventive with remedies and lessen the impact on your bottom line.

Stress Causes Improvement

There is good and bad stress. Working for yourself puts the onus on you to set positive goals that will cause you to soar, while minimizing negative pressures that arise.

Good Stressors that we need.

Learning new skills. Learn all you can about your chosen path. Even if a method that may only serve to help you with a single process will likely come in handy down the road. Though I am happiest in my workshop making dust, I have tackled the realms of making spreadsheets, cooking, gardening, masonry and marketing. Grokking a new skill, even to a limited degree, may lead you to an unplanned path in your travels.
Self-setting time limits. Having realistic deadlines helps keep the procrastination gremlins at bay. It also lets potential customers know that you are a responsible maker and it is safe to do business with you.
Tackle jobs that you would normally hire others for.
Helping others learn. Spending time on a project with family or friends is always rewarding.

Bad Stressors

that we want to minimize. Addressing these as soon as they become problematic is best. Ignoring them allows them to grow into monsters that destroy us. Although we may not overcome them completely, we must learn to cope so that they are manageable.