Tag: failure

Hide and run

FabrizioLeave a comment

What do you do when you forget to get back to a colleague, when the day ends without you returning that call, when the follow up you promised on that matter does not happen, when you postpone that conversation you were supposed to have?

The truth is, most of the time, we just go down a path that takes us further away from the right thing.

And so we avoid the colleague, we silence the phone, we build excuses around the promise, we postpone the conversation until it gets forgotten. We hide. We run from a mere oversight until it spirals into a complete failure. This is how much we hate admitting we did something wrong.

Of course, all of the process of hiding and running takes a lot of resources. Energy and time that will be better employed once we find the courage to say “my bad, let’s move on”.

How much more could you achieve if only you would learn to say “I am sorry”?

Warnings

FabrizioLeave a comment

There is always a warning. There is always a sign.

You should be prepared, and yet you are not. Partly because it is easier to think at life as a straight, uninterrupted line. Partly because most warnings are encrypted, unclear, have mixed words, and it is only easy to spot them afterwards.

And so, when something happens to you, searching ex post for warnings and signs is pretty much useless. Think instead about where you can go from there, and whom with. That is how you will unlock the potential of the situation.

Today and tomorrow

FabrizioLeave a comment

Success is about aligning the actions of today to the desired outcomes of tomorrow.

This is where most of us fail.

Because the short-term adrenaline rush, the immediate reward, is very attractive when compared to something that might (or not) come at some point in the future. And what if when we are there we will not like it? And what if this shiny thing right here, right now will actually become a once in a lifetime opportunity?

It never does.

We spend our days moving from one distraction to the next, and it is only when we look back at our day, at our week, at our year, (at our life?) that we realize we are not a step closer to where we want to go.

It is natural, common and accepted. And we need to stop it.

The first time

FabrizioLeave a comment

We are rarely as nervous and preoccupied as when we attempt something for the first time. Yet, in principle most of us are ok with the idea of failure when trying something new.

The first time is a learning opportunity, a chance to put in practice some of the theory we have read about, a way to tweak the recipe and make it ours. It is the stepping stone to every rewarding activity and we should approach it with some healthy excitement and a smile.

Urgent and change

FabrizioLeave a comment

Urgent usually comes from one person. It is a way to counter a fear, a discomfort, a stressor. It spreads very fast, it gets things done, and it kills motivation.

Change on the other hand is usually a collective action. It is pursued in reaction to a habit, a behaviour, an action, a system. It takes time, it has a non-linear progress, and it gives purpose.

What are you working on these days?