How To Turn Your Mess Into Your Message

Make your mess your message is a common phrase about sharing your negative experiences in life to encourage others. GMA anchor Robin Roberts said her mother would always give her that advice.

Your mistakes can be lessons you can share with others. Your misfortunes can be something others can relate to. They don’t have to be moments of shame you keep to yourself.

The good thing about being only human is none of us are perfect. And none of our lives are always as great as they may appear on social media We’ve all got baggage, we’ve all got skeletons, and we’ve all made mistakes.

Turning a mess into a message is about taking your bad experiences and bad moments in life, and sharing a positive lesson from it. It’s about telling people how you can make the best things come out of the worst circumstances.

Table Of Contents open

Why letting your mess be your message matters

We underestimate the stories we each have to inspire others. We also don’t realize how many others are dealing with the same things we’ve dealt with.

Imagine how less alone you would have felt had you known someone else had the same problem as you. Think of how less alone you can make someone else feel.

One of the reasons I enjoy writing is I get to share my experiences and see that others can relate. On a previous article I wrote on not owning a smartphone, I was amazed at how many people also felt the same way.

It was great to see how encouraged people were to either keep not owning a smartphone, or get one and not have all the distracting apps. In a way, our stories help remove the discomfort or stigma behind unusual, different, or unfortunate circumstances in life.

Examples of making a mess into a message

There have been many examples of people making their messes their message. Here are a few:

Robin Roberts is a successful news person who had contracted a bone marrow disease in 2012. She shared her news with the world and her journey of getting a bone marrow transplant. The day she announced her illness, the National Marrow Donor Program experienced an 1,800% spike in donors.
Naomi Osaka is a successful tennis player who chose open up about her struggles with anxiety when doing tennis interviews. Her openness inspired other athletes, such as Simone Biles, to share their struggle with mental illness. Their openness is hopefully helping to remove the stigma associated with mental illness and make others feel more able to open up.
Nick Vujicic was born with no arms and no legs. Many people wouldn’t blame someone for allowing that circumstance to make them believe their life is a mess. But he instead saw it as a message of inspiration, by giving speeches around the world encouraging people that they can overcome any circumstance in life.

How to make your mess into a good message

1. Think of your worst circumstances

In order to make messages out of our mess, we need to think about what they were first. Think about the mistakes that were hard for you to get over. Think about the circumstances in life that were difficult for you to overcome.

2. Find the positive

Once you’ve settled on a few messes, think about what good came out of them. Was there a lesson you learned that’s helped you live a better life?

Was there something great that came out of the struggle you endured? Figure out the answer to those questions.

3. Share your message

Whenever there seems like a good opportunity to do it, share your mess with someone. You could share it with those who are going through the same thing you went through. You could maybe tell someone who’s going through a hard time how you overcame your difficult circumstances.

There are many people in this world that could use a little inspiration and encouragement. If you feel comfortable in the moment, feel free to let people hear the message you have to share.

Final thoughts on messes and messages

In many cases, we can find a positive out of our negatives. There can be lessons learned or surprising rewards that come out of our tough times. When you discover those things, be open to sharing that with someone to help them move forward in their journey of life.