something harder.”
Ann Landers
I think that our friendly advice columnist, Ann Landers, is on to something very helpful here. She’s given us two lessons for the price of one quote. That’s pretty good!
The first lesson is in how we train ourselves to be successful.
We start small. Take a little task, an easy task, and do that. Then do it again. We’re practicing doing new things and getting things done. As we do that, we build confidence.
That’s important, because we’ll need it as we move on to bigger tasks.
Some people start with a big task and then get discouraged because it was harder then they expected. Break it down into little pieces. Train for success.
The second lesson she’s teaching us is to grow. Don’t stick to easy tasks, push and challenge yourself as you go along.
If all the things you do are easy enough to do right the first time, you’re not growing. Take bigger bites. Stretch yourself so that sometimes you have to start over.
That’s OK, it’s not a failure. It’s a learning experience.
You’ll be surprised how far you can grow in a year with this process. Try, push, learn, grow.
It’s the only way anyone has ever done it! That’s the secret.
Now start.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Wes
Great blog. I really like the second idea as it ties in with the concept of having a growth mindset. It’s an idea that I’m starting to share with others as it is the key between progressing or going backwards.
I’ve worked with people with the opposite (fixed mindset) and if you do not know about the concept, they are really hard work and can create a lot of frustration.
Robin
Hi, Robin
As a coach you’d know how important that is. If the players (and the coaches) aren’t growing, it’s hard to have a winning team. Life keeps raising the bar. Thanks for the comment.
I think we grow by overcoming our failures and learning from our own mistakes. Dr Gawande’s Checklist Manifesto – you can learn more about it here: http://academy.justjobs.com/use-checklists helps you prepare for any type of task, and therefore reduce the number of mistakes you make.