Each individual bad thing I did in my youth was probably a net negative, yet taken together my life of mischief yielded incredible superpowers as an adult. I wonder about this.
Once I jumped off a roof and broke one of my fingers. Rather than get in trouble, I set it myself. I got lucky that it was a clean break and wasn’t much trouble, but it certainly could have been a more severe injury. I don’t even recall now what I did that night (I was sneaking out), so surely it can’t have been – individually – worth the trouble. But the additional knowledge of my own capabilities was valuable, and I wouldn’t want to give it up.
Every piece of mischief in our lives is an extra thread in the net. We have to have something to fall into even as we try to do good – and mischief makes friends, too. Mischief gets you out of ruts.
Go get up to something.
The Opportunity Machine 