The small Texas band, The Oh, Hellos, have a song entitled, “I Have Made Mistakes.” It is one of those songs that seems to so simply and completely express the universal human experience of messing up. In their poetic lyrics, The Oh, Hellos sing of the trials and struggles that no one escapes untouched.

Listeners resonate with the difficulty in getting it right and letting mistakes be a part of their reality. The brother-sister duo allows for doubt and fear, connection and conquering. And while in no way lowering the bar, they sing of a lower degree of pressure to be perfect. They invite acceptance, growth, and grace alongside acknowledging the realities life presents.

How would your life be if you did this or if you felt mistakes were acceptable and ok? What if the things that seem messy are the exact things you need to help you to grow? If you allowed for acceptance towards yourself and the grace that you are doing the best you can, how might you feel at the end of the day?

Struggle, mistakes, failures. These are the things life is made of and made for. When you feel you can’t go on, when you worry you’ve messed up too much, when you let fear of failure propel you, you need the space and grace to get back up, try again and move towards the men and women you want to be. We must continually remind ourselves that the struggle isn’t always the enemy, but rather can be the very thing we most require.

I invite you to read the lyrics below and ponder…how do you interact with and accept your mistakes, how do you receive the metaphorical rain in your life that is necessary for growth, how do you give yourself grace while you’re in process?

I have made mistakes, I continue to make them
The promises I’ve made, I continue to break them
And all the doubts I’ve faced, I continue to face them
But nothing is a waste if you learn from it

And the sun, it does not cause us to grow
It is the rain that will strengthen your soul
And it will make you whole

We have lived in fear, and our fear has betrayed us
But we will overcome the apathy that has made us
Because we are not alone in the dark with our demons
And we have made mistakes
But we’ve learned from them

And the sun, it does not cause us to grow
It is the rain that will strengthen your soul
And it will make you whole

And oh my heart, how can I face you now?
When we both know how badly I have let you down
And I am afraid of all that I’ve built
Fading away

-The Oh, Hellos

Written by Lindsay Williams, MA, LPC.

I’d love to read your stories of the growth that has come from mistakes and messing up. Or for more on learning to interact with your mistakes in a way you feel better about, give me a call today!