Life is and has always been trial and error. Human—and all of—evolution was one massive set of false starts and broken lines with only a few (and their progeny) getting out alive. There’s perspective on the five pounds you gained over the summer.

It’s simple really. If we can just accept the patchy, errant nature of progress, we have a better chance of using our mistakes to propel rather than sink our success. Here are a few thoughts on that.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)