I am a professor of psychology. Some time ago, I got halfway through a day of teaching before a co-worker pointed out to me I was quite ______ wearing a different pair of shoes, one red and one black. I felt so ______ and upset but I would have to go to teach my ______ like this. When I noticed how much I wanted to disappear and avoid this ______, I was determined to face it ______. I walked into class and ______ to the students that I was wearing two shoes from ______ pairs, and directed their attention to my feet. Everyone laughed and we went on with class. Years later, a ________ in that class told me that this was the moment she first thought that maybe, just maybe, she could be a professor, too.

I ______ my mistake because I realized that trying to hide it was weakening my ability to concentrate my mind on my teaching — but I had no idea that it would also help shorten the ________ distance between my students and myself.

Many contexts may ______ or shame people for making mistakes. Our efforts to avoid them _______ our desires for success, and how others will respond to our mistakes. We might feel ______ and shame if we do make some.

However, mistake-making is part of learning new things, and it can ______ us closer to others. It ______ up the possibility of accepting mistakes gladly, letting us be more open and engaged in what we are doing.

A long time ago there was a boy. He was smart, talented and handsome.   ______, he was very selfish and his temper was so ______ that nobody wanted to be friends with him. Often he got angry and said various _______things to people around him.

The boy’s parents were very ______ about his bad temper. They considered what they could do and one day the father had an idea. He called his son and gave him a hammer and a bag of______. The father said: “Every time you get angry, take a nail and ______ it into that old fence as hard as you can.”

The fence was very______and the hammer was heavy, nevertheless the boy was so angry that during the very first day he drove 37 nails.

Day after day, week after week, the number of nails was gradually   ______. After some time, the boy started to understand that ______ his temper is easier than driving nails into the fence.

One day the boy didn’t ______ hammer and nails any more as he learned to hold his temper perfectly. So he came to his father and told about his______. “Now every time, when you hold your temper all day long,_________ one nail”.

Much time has passed. At last the boy could be______ of himself as all the nails were gone. When he came to his father and told about this, he________ to come and take a careful look at the fence. “You did a good job, my son, ______ pay your attention to the ______ that were left from the nails. The fence will ______ be the same. The same happens when you say hurtful things to people, as your words leave______ in their hearts like those holes in the fence. Remember, we need to ______ everyone with love and respect. It doesn’t ______ that you say you are sorry, because the scars will not disappear.

Have you ever watched an artist paint a picture? He or she works close to the canvas _____ small sections at a time in the process of completing the whole painting.

But every once in a while, the artist must step back from his/her work and look at the whole picture. Only by stepping away from what they’re working on can they _____ the proper perspective. The proper point of view is _____ to the end result.

It’s no difference for any other creation. _____ it’s a business, a project or your life, you need to step back sometimes in order to get it right. From a _____, you can see things you can’t see when you’re close. The difference is in working on your project instead of working in it. It’s all too easy to focus on something but _____ the important parts needed to create a satisfying result.

Stephen Covey calls it “_____ the saw (锯)”. It would be _____ to keep sawing without stopping from time to time to make your tool sharper. But unfortunately, that’s what too many of us _____.

Just like music, we need spaces between the notes in order to create the lovely melody. A continuous collection of notes with no spaces is not good — it’s ______.

You may need to take a vacation to ______ work or study. At other times, it’s better to take a course or attend a meeting to ______ some new ideas. Sometimes, it may be better to take a complete break, to go away and just do something totally ______ — take on a volunteer project, build a house for Habitat for Humanity or some other worthy causes.

The important thing is to take the breaks. Without them, we are not ______ and we don’t enjoy our work or our life as much. Our pressure ______ and both our work and our health suffer.