When life throws you a curveball, it's probably because you're at bat...

We all make mistakes, right?
So when we make a mistake, we tend to freak out a little, fix it, and move past it.
When others make mistakes, we tend to freak out a little, be mad for a few minutes, help fix it, and move past it.
Or so I wish.
While some simply win at life and have this kind of attitude, and while about a sixteenth as much as those people are saints and don't even freak out or get mad, most of us get seriously stressed when we or others make mistakes. If we make a mistake, we act like the world is ending and nothing's ever going to be right again... and then, what do you know, the next day does arrive.
And yet we learn nothing.
My favorite is when someone else makes a mistake and we mumble and grumble and yell at them all while doing the regular oh-no-it's-a-mistake routine; because then, it's not our fault, so the one happy notion we get out of this mistake is that we aren't the ones who did it. The only problem is, the fact that they did the mistake while life was SUPPOSED to be going on perfectly makes us twice as stressed out, so the joy of blaming another kind of dies.
To stay sane, here's something I preach and am learning to practice: just freaking DEAL.
I mean, really.
It's just a mistake.
See, I thought of (what I think, anyway, is) a pretty good illustration of mistakes: baseball.
People often refer to unexpected things as curveballs, right? So think of it like this:
You're at bat, bottom of the ninth, tied with two runs, bases loaded. From what you know about the pitcher, he only throws scary fastballs. You eat scary fastballs for breakfast. You're ready to hit a fastball when you notice that he's throwing a curveball! What the hell?! You don't do curveballs! What are you supposed to do?! He's not supposed to throw it! THIS IS NOT PART OF THE PLAN!
But WAIT--what's that you're holding? A... a bat? No way! And that's a ball! So you'll HIT IT! Oh wait--it's not even going to end up in the strike zone. "BALL!"
See? Crisis averted. You end up hitting a frickin' legendary grand slam on the next pitch, winning 6-2. It is allll good.
Now, let's pretend you're the coach, keeping an eye on your prize hitter when suddenly the pitcher turns and lobs a curveball at your head!
THAT, my friend, would be an issue. Not to mention the first time in baseball history that the pitcher got confused and thought the coach was going to somehow play, but whatever.
What I was trying to say throughout that whole weird baseball analogy is that even though you have your expectations about life, it's going to throw you things you didn't see coming. Thing is, it's still in the norm; just because it's different doesn't mean it's not life. (Just like it's still normal for the pitcher to throw the ball; just because he deviated from his usual plan doesn't mean you can't bat anymore.) These things are supposed to happen, and we're supposed to deal with them.
If life were just as we expected, it would be boooringgg.
So next time a mistake is made, try to just kinda face it...

If it's a broken part, replace it
If it's a broken arm, then brace it
If it's a broken heart, then face it

Well said, Jason. Well said.