How fascinating!
Mistakes aren’t fun.
They remind us that we are fallable.
That we aren’t perfect.
And for those of you who grew up trying to be perfect (present company included), this is tough to swallow.
But what if mistakes aren’t a reason to lament, rather a reason to get curious?
Benjamin Zander is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.
Whenever one of his orchestra members makes a mistake, he exclaims, “how fascinating!”
That’s probably the last word you think of when you make a mistake.
And yet the brillance of it is that it invites curiousity.
Photo by Evgeniya Kuzmina on Pexels
Rather than bringing negative attention to your mistakes, what if you viewed them as fascinating?
By definition, fascinating is used to describe something that is very interesting and attractive, captivating, or enchanting.
What if instead of letting your mistakes upset you, you used them to get curious?
Here are 6 ways that you can engage mistakes with curiosity:
1. “What was I really trying to do there?”
Instead of shaming yourself for the outcome, curiosity can help you explore your intention.
Maybe the goal wasn’t wrong—just the method.
This clarity can help you choose a better approach next time without abandoning what matters to you.
2. “What conditions led to that choice?”
Was it pressure? Fatigue? Lack of information?
Curiosity shifts you from self-blame to self-awareness.
Understanding the context of your mistake builds wisdom, not just regret.
3. “Is there a pattern here?”
One mistake might be a fluke.
A few similar ones might be pointing to a blind spot.
Curiosity turns your mistakes into a feedback loop—one that can reveal something important about your habits, assumptions, or mindset.
4. “How did this affect others?”
Curiosity can help you see beyond your own embarrassment to the human impact of your actions.
This doesn’t mean self-flagellation—it means cultivating empathy and taking responsibility with clarity, not defensiveness.
5. “What’s something I didn’t know before?”
Every mistake contains a data point.
Curiosity helps you ask, “What can this teach me?”
It could be a new insight about a process, a person, or even yourself.
That learning becomes part of your growth story.
6. “What if this is part of the process?”
Curiosity can help you zoom out.
Instead of treating mistakes as failures, it helps you see them as evidence that you’re stretching, experimenting, and evolving.
That reframing alone can give you the courage to try again.
Next time you make a mistake, declare, “how fascinating!” and bring a little curiosity to help you move forward.
Love,
Audrey
