The Art of Not Destroying Yourself over Yesterday

What I learned about being human from coaching a 12-year-old at a psychedelic beer launch

I stood at an event last Saturday, watching a 12-year-old girl walk away from our conversation, and felt that familiar flutter in my chest.

Did I say the right thing? Should I have asked different questions? What was I even thinking, agreeing to coach a child when I’ve never done that before?

The old version of me would have spent the next three days replaying every word, dissecting every pause, building a case for why I’d probably traumatized this kid or missed some crucial moment that could have changed her life forever.

But something different happened this time.