When life is seen as a journey of discovery, then we learn to deal more gracefully with the setbacks, the mistakes, and the roadblocks in our life. We can start to grasp the spiritual insight that there are no mistakes, simply experiences that point us to a deeper truth about ourselves and the world. In previous stages, life's roadblocks (an illness, a bad boss, a difficult marriage) are seen as unfair rolls of the dice. We meet them with anger, shame, or blame, and these feelings disconnect us from others and ourselves. In Teal, obstacles are seen as life's way to teach us about ourselves and about the world. We are ready to let go of anger, shame, and blame, which are useful shields for the ego but poor teachers for the soul. We embrace the possibility that we played a part in creating the problem, and inquire what we can learn so as to grow from it.

In earlier paradigms, we often convince ourselves that everything is all right until a problem has snowballed and hits us like an avalanche, forcing change into our life. Now, we tend to make frequent small adjustments, as we learn and grow from problems we encounter along the way. In previous stages, change on a personal level feels threatening. As of Evolutionary-Teal, there is often an enjoyable tension in the journey of personal growth.^[10]