The Courage to Screw Up: Why DIY Is Good for You

“As the editor-in-chief of the do-it-yourself magazine Make,
I’ve met scores of dedicated makers. They come from all walks of
life — rich, poor, young, old, male, female, religious, atheist,
liberal, conservative. They’re as varied as the things they make:
kites with cameras, homebrew biodiesel, treehouses with ziplines,
cigar box guitars, remote-control lawnmowers, automatic
cat-feeders, high-altitude water rockets, robotic blimps, worm
composting systems, stylish plywood furniture, pinhole cameras,
experimental surfboards, solar water heaters, portable drive-in
movie projectors — there’s no limit to their aspirations. And
while no two DIYers are alike, in general they’re an upbeat and
friendly group that shares a special trait: the courage to screw
up.

“Being able to accept, even embrace, your mistakes is far from
easy. In school, we learn that mistakes translate into bad grades.
This unfortunate lesson gets burned into our brains, and we go
through life shunning challenges that might end in failure. But
DIYers not only accept the inevitability of mistakes, they welcome
them, because they know that mistakes are a source of inspiration
and the most effective way to learn. The latest research in
neuroscience supports this idea.”

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