“But what if you make the wrong call?”
“It can’t be the wrong call. It might not be the one that yields the best result, but that doesn’t make it wrong.”
This exchange is from Mythic Quest, episode 1 of season 3. It’s a moment between Poppy and Ian as they walk through a hallway lined with photos of iconic and historic figures—Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and of course, a photo of Ian himself (because naturally, he believes he belongs in that lineup).
That line from Ian—“It might not be the call that yields the best result, but that doesn’t make it wrong”—has stuck with me ever since.
It’s one of the most profound things I’ve ever heard come out of a comedy show. And honestly, it’s changed the way I think about almost everything in my life.
We’re so used to labeling things. Our brains love it. It helps us organize and remember. We tuck away days as “good” or “bad,” and those labels instantly pull up the emotions we associate with them. A “good day” brings back warmth and happiness. A “bad day” brings back stress, sadness, anxiety, or anger.
We also label things in real time. When it rains, people call it a “gloomy” or “bad” day. When the sun is shining, it’s a “great day to be outside.”
But here’s the thing: labeling is just judging. And while that’s a totally human thing to do, it can limit the way we experience life. It can shrink our perspective. Here’s a small example from my day-to-day life in NYC.
When it rains here—and I’m not talking about epic thunderstorms, just your typical rainy afternoon—I love going to the park. It’s quiet. The sidewalks are virtually empty. The sound of the city fades under the hush of the rain. If you wander into the Ramble or the North Woods, it starts to feel like you’ve slipped into another world entirely. You forget you’re in the middle of one of the busiest cities on Earth.
It’s peaceful. It’s grounding. But I’d miss that experience if I held tight to the belief that rainy days are bad. I’d hole up in my apartment. I’d pout. I’d wish for different weather and ignore what the day was offering me instead.
And I’m guilty of this in the opposite direction, too. I don’t do well in heat. I much prefer the cold, and during summer I tend to get cranky and stay indoors. But I’ve been working on shifting that story. I try to find the good in hot, sunny days—like a frosty soft serve from a truck, a slice of chilled watermelon, or a massive iced coffee that feels like life in a cup. None of those things quite hit the same in winter. (Though for the record, I drink iced coffee year-round.)
The point is: the same day I might call “bad,” someone else might call “good.” And when we label and judge, we filter our experience through that lens and we can miss out on a lot of potential joy.
Lately, I’ve been applying this idea to bigger parts of life like business decisions, relationships, and those turning points we rush to categorize as wins or losses.
Losing a job is never easy. Jobs bring stability, income, healthcare. But what if losing that job leads you to one that’s even better? Or motivates you to start your own thing? Or gives you time to rest, reconnect, and heal in a way you couldn’t have imagined?
I’m not trying to gloss over painful experiences or say you should smile through everything. Feel your feelings. I’ve felt anger, heartbreak, disappointment, grief. I’ve cried. I’ve felt stuck. I’ve doubted myself completely.
But at some point, I have to decide to keep going.
I never wanted to be someone defined by a single setback. I’ve met people like that—people who stay stuck in one chapter of their lives, reliving it over and over as the thing that ruined everything. And I understand that some things are truly traumatic. But I’ve also met people who’ve gone through unimaginable pain and still chose to move forward. Their stories inspire me. They remind me that if they could keep going, then I can keep going.
Most decisions aren’t good or bad. They’re just decisions. I know that might sound controversial, but I believe it with my whole heart. And believing it has made life so much lighter.
I don’t beat myself up over past choices. I made them with the information I had at the time. It’s easy to look back with hindsight and say “I should’ve done this instead.” But that’s unfair to the version of you who was doing their best with what they knew.
Sitting around judging myself for a decision that didn’t go how I hoped is unproductive. And oddly enough, so is congratulating myself too much for the ones that worked out. In both cases, I didn’t know how it would turn out. I just made a call.
We’re all doing our best. So why do we add more pressure by expecting ourselves to always get it right? Why do we keep assigning everything a “good” or “bad” stamp? It’s exhausting. And it makes us afraid to act—because we’re scared of how we’ll judge ourselves later.
But when you let go of those labels and trust that you’re making the best decision with the information you have now, something shifts. You get faster. You gather more feedback. You learn quicker. Decision-making gets easier. And with every step, you get better at it.
As Ian said: each call might not yield the best result, but it’s not wrong.
Have you ever made a decision that didn’t “go right” but still changed your life? I’d love to hear your story. Drop it in the comments or send this to someone who needs it today.
