It’s the time of year when lots of people start new things – jobs, internships, periods of work experience, volunteering, summer camps etc.  All of these things will call for people to do new things, and when we do something new we often make mistakes or do something embarrassing until we get used to it.

And, when we do that embarrassing thing the worst part is usually facing your new colleagues, friends, customers, etc. again.

I’ve been thinking about this because it’s just happened to me – I’ve started playing tennis this year, and in my second ever match at the weekend I tripped up between points & burst my knee open, leading to the abandonment of match, a trip to A&E & 5 stitches.  Within seconds of falling I wasn’t thinking about pain, I was thinking about how mortified I was at the commotion I was causing. And later I was lying in bed wondering whether I could face my team mates again, with all the inevitable laughing and pointing at me being so useless.  It’s a few days later now, so I’ve got some perspective, and I will be going back as soon as the knee’s better, because I’m not going to let a bit of embarrassment get in the way of my new hobby.

Metaphorically getting up, dusting yourself down, and carrying on (or Resilience as it’s also known) is one of the key transferable skills anyone needs when they want to succeed in something – because if you haven’t messed up then you haven’t tried hard enough.