One of the most underestimated skills is the capacity to keep at it even when faced with scarce results.
An even more underestimated skill is the capacity to let go of things you have dedicated time and resources to, once they are no longer beneficial to you and others.
Balance the two and you will own your destiny.
It’s not bad to be told that you’ve done a poor job, that you have played poorly in the last match, that your performance is below the expectations.
It does not have to become a personal affront or a way for you (and others) to determine the quality of your future.
Of course, it hurts. Because you have probably given it your all.
But the direction of the motion that comes out of negative feedback is something you can control.
Sometimes people fail to succeed because they can’t accept to suck.
If you want to master something, you have to get accustomed to the idea that you are going to suck. You are going to suck at the thing you want to master – for a long time, before you actually master it -, and you are going to suck at most of the other things that you are not interested in mastering. That’s why it’s easier to move from one activity to the next, averaging them all.
Success requires a close familiarity with the idea that you suck.
There are two powerful instincts we need to fight when things don’t go as we’d like.
The instinct to hide, to go ahead as if nothing happened.
And the instinct to find an immediate, easy, known answer.
In both cases, we take a shortcut, as we are basically hoping that things will magically go back to normal. It might even be the case, but it is rare.
If we can fight those forces for long enough, a more rational approach might kick in. It’s when we start looking at the situation, we collect facts and data, we formulate hypothesis, we make changes, and we reassess.
Of course, it’s more complex, and it might even get us face-to-face with some hard truths we’d prefer to escape.
And it’s still the most reliable way to move on and progress.
Scale down.
Lower your targets.
Take a break.
Build a profitable business.
Hire one person less than what you had planned.
Stop working two hours earlier.
Do not reply to a thread unless you can really add some value.
Set sustainable and humane growth goals.
Tell your colleague to take the rest of the day off.
Focus on a niche, for real.
Reject the invite to an all-hands meeting.
Set some time a part in your calendar to develop relationships.
Keep your opinion for yourself and bring facts to the table.
Think about what is going on.
Look inside and write down how you are feeling.
Withdraw from a recruiting process that does not feel right.
All those things require a lot of courage, simply because almost nobody is doing them. That’s where you can start making your story different.
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