Journal prompts to reframe mistakes

Mistakes are never the end to a story, just a plot twist

Hello my journaling fiends!

In this week’s main newsletter, I discussed reframing mistakes as “glorious blunders” or, more simply, “life.” I want to be very clear that I used to beat myself the f*ck up for my “mistakes.” For example, I would say something dumb in a business meeting and spend the rest of my day, week, or month berating myself. But by working on my own self-acceptance and changing my mindset to see any setback or bump in the road as a plot twist—not an ending—mistakes just don’t really bother me any more. I recognize that making mistakes is a central tenet of being human and that, without them, honestly, I don’t grow. I’m not one of those people who takes tons of lessons from things that go well. I can’t lie!

And so, this week, let’s journal together about how we can reframe our mistakes into things that make our lives richer, not something we need to be ashamed of. Mistakes are not failures; they’re lessons in disguise.

Monday: Is it Even a Mistake?

• Describe a mistake you’ve made that’s really bugging you, whether it's professional, in a relationship, or anything else.

• Use “Benefit Finding” (a journaling technique we’ve used in the past) to find all the positive things that came from the supposed mistake, even if the positives are very small.

• Now, as you reconsider what you’ve gained from your mistake, ask yourself, “If I can learn from this, is it really a mistake?”

Tuesday: Feather Boa Moments

• Describe a mistake you've made recently that, in hindsight, is kind of funny.

• How can you reframe it as a "glorious blunder"?

• Let’s not take ourselves so seriously, shall we?

Wednesday: BFF Treatment

• Write about a mistake you’ve been beating yourself up over.

• How would you respond if your best friend had made the same mistake?

• Can you offer yourself the words you would offer a best friend?

Thursday: Plot Twists

• Think of a mistake that turned out to be a redirection in the story of your life, not the ending.

• What did you learn from the plot twist, and how did it change your story for the better?

Friday: The Power of Vulnerability (aka Saving Face is Boring)

• So many of us spend our days trying to “look good” and seem infallible.

• But the truth is, we would ALL be much happier if we knew that the people around us struggled.

• Is there someone in your life you can share a mistake with? Or a misfortune that turned out to be for the better?

• Example: I have a friend who is job hunting, and it’s taking her a VERY long time to find her new gig. Rather than tell her platitudes like, “You’ll be okay! A job doesn’t define you, girl!” I will tell her the story of how I had to have an internship for an entire year because no one, not a single restaurant, bar, or store, on the Isle of Manhattan would hire me. It was extremely dejecting to have three interviews at The Grey Dog (a sandwich store) only to be told I wasn’t made of the right stuff. But, the whole experience made me double down on the internship I had at The Daily Show, and The Daily Show was the start of my entire career. Honestly, I don’t know how seriously I would have taken the internship had it not been the only thing I had going for me. So it sucked, felt very embarrassing, and was the exact right plot twist for me.

Saturday: Future Reframing

• Describe a mistake you’re worried you might make in the future.

• How can you preemptively reframe it as a learning experience rather than a failure?

• Can you remind yourself that one of your primary jobs as a human is to make mistakes and learn? So that making mistakes isn’t really that big of a deal?

Sunday: Reflection

• As you look back at this week of prompts, has your relationship to your mistakes shifted at all?

• What have you learned for yourself?

I hope these prompts help you embrace the humor, humanity, and lessons in your mistakes, turning them into opportunities for growth and even connection. Have I changed your mind even a TINY bit about mistakes? I’d love to know in the comments!