I’ve always felt a kind of kinship with Anne of Green Gables. I don’t have red hair, and I wish I lived on Prince Edward Island, but I do share her gift for spectacular mistakes - those things that just catastrophically happen. Some make excellent before/after photos (the blender I took the lid off of while it was running made quite the impression on the kitchen). At times like these, I usually contemplate how happy and unsuspecting the five minutes before had been, and then I consider crying. Sometimes I skip the considering part. But there’s another response, and the more spectacular the mistake, the better it might be. Try laughing - at the situation, at yourself. There are all kinds of reasons why choosing to laugh is better than choosing to cry.

1. Perspective

It's a mistake, maybe even a spectacular mistake, but will this still be catastrophic in a week? Or a year? Or five years? You might have to clean some things up, it might be inconvenient, but it isn't the end of the world.

2. Someone else is probably laughing

probably will be laughing. What then? You can't take away their laughter, but you can supplement it with your own. And when you're laughing, it tends to take the edge off of things, even the things you fully intend to be bitter about.

3. It probably is funny

Objectively considered, the situation probably does look pretty funny. There must be a reason they're laughing, right?

4. Life starts to look a lot brighter

You've found humor in your mistake, and there isn't room for humor and frustration to exist together inside you. Finding humor is a choice, and it's the brighter way to go.

5. You're prepared to fix the mistake

While you're wallowing in your mistake, it isn't easy to see past the problem to think of any kind of solution. But a good laugh clears your head enough to begin looking at what to do next. Everyone makes mistakes, but it doesn't mean things should be left in pieces.

6. You have a back-pocket power no one can touch

Laughing at your own mistakes lets the world know that not too much can faze you. Even more, it's something you can hold on to, knowing that your unexpected mistakes don't have to leave you an irritated, crying mess. Because they will always be unexpected. But there's no power like laughter over the unexpected.