Failing and Learning

We are all familiar with "learning from your failures"; we hear it all the time. It is true as frustrating as it is at times.



A few years ago I was taking some classes and things were going well. So, when my lawnmower started clanking I decided to tear it apart and see what was causing it. Another duh moment. What on earth made me think I could fix a mower? I was working a lot of overtime at the time and I think I figured that I could pay someone to mow the yard or put the mower back together if I couldn't.



So I sat down in the middle of the garage and disassembled the mower. I never did figure out what was clanking. I did manage to get to get it all back together with no extra parts left over and a minimum of gas spillage. And, it worked! And it didn't clank any more. But that was just sheer luck because I didn't know what I was doing and didn't really learn anything from the experience.



On the other hand, when I replaced all the innards of the toilet tank not long ago because it wouldn't stop running, I learned what "finger tight" is. Obviously the manufacturers finger tight and mine are a long way apart. I also learned real fast that you don't just assume that everything is good and turn the water on full blast. Having huge bath towels comes in handy.

So, after wrench tightening, and gingerly turning the water back on, I learned how tight the nuts and things have to be to avoid flooding the bathroom.