I’d rather make mistakes than do nothing. Mistakes - when made with good intent -usually teach me something about life, so I see them as an opportunity to learn, rather than be something that I regret. Taking steps forward, thinking outside the norm, doing rather than being, is always going to invite error. But any day, I’d rather be embracing life than letting it choke me.

 Mistakes come from taking risks, but the biggest mistakes often come from doing nothing. When life is not how you want it to be, do something about it. When things need to improve, look to yourself for change and do not fear the mistakes you may make along the way.

 For a mistake is not a failure. It’s simply a blimp in the scheme. The bigger the mistake, the bigger the blimp, granted. But a choice still exists on how you approach the mistake and the learning that comes with it.

 Taking chances is for the brave ...and the stupid. There is a fine line between the two. But at some time in all our lives, we need to take a chance. A chance to create a better life, a chance to create a better feeling inside ourselves, a chance to be the person we always dreamed we could be! Aren’t those all great reasons to take a chance and risk a mistake? If the risk of error is less than the potential gain, isn’t it worth trying to do things differently?

 In three weeks time I’ll be living life entirely differently: new country, new home, new school, new friends, new work; everything will shift dramatically. I absolutely expect that I will make some mistakes along the way. But I have done my homework so I hope those mistakes will be small compared to the incredible new awakenings I will discover through taking a chance.  I want to show my daughter that life is about taking educated risks, about exploring and that a shift is always possible if we look within and are brave enough to move forward.