Happy Monday or whatever Monday you choose.
I was on a coffee break last week and asked a co-worker, "have you failed today?" He was taken aback by the question. I explained to him that failure is learning what does not work, and he liked that a little better. I am happy to say that I failed this weekend. I did a pilot of my online seminar with trusted friends and family and discovered a few opportunities for improvement. My friend Pamela Diggs had a little sign on her desk that said, "A comfort zone is a desert. Nothing grows there." I am enjoying putting myself out there. Taking measured risks has been very exhilarating. When is the last time you took a chance? When is the last time you failed?
But, and there is always a but – I'm not as strong as you. "Failure hurts; I am not comfortable feeling like an idiot." I have been there. I used to cry every day in high school math class when the teacher corrected me. When you realize that people who correct you are trying to help you, it does get easier. I appreciate people who are willing to risk short term hurt feelings to help someone achieve long term growth. Do you want to walk around with spinach in your teeth? I was conducting training at work, and a typographical error was pointed out on the first slide. I was excited to be able to model being receptive to feedback. They saved me from any potential future embarrassment. Feedback truly is a gift. Speaking and hearing the truth is powerful.
I am fortunate to have people in my life like Lisa Brooks, who are willing to tell me the truth. It is easy to get tunnel vision when you are working on a goal. I managed to make a pivot to be able to move forward with my presentation, but I got so involved with making the material perfect that I forgot about the goal. Will I have extra work to do? Yes. Is it worth it? Totally. One of my co-workers apologized for giving me extra work when they shared their feedback. They did not expect me to do such thorough follow up. I shared with them that the feedback is always welcome because I need to be able to improve our processes and find strategies that work with our changing demographics.
Being able to receive feedback is a process. It did not happen overnight. It has taken me over a decade to get comfortable with failure. Sometimes when people provide feedback, you may want to crawl into a ball and die. It can be very discouraging because it threatens your worldview. Byron Katie said, "When I argue with reality, I lose – but only 100% of the time." Once I surrender to the truth, I can navigate the change and grow. I am not going to tell you it is easy or fun. It does get more comfortable, and I am reaching a phase in life where the challenge of change is getting to be fun and exciting. Are you ready to fail today?
If you are interested in attending my Why Not? – Start-Up Your Life online talk, please vote for your favorite time at: https://doodle.com/poll/9kmyewt2e6xexafm
Happy Monday or whatever Monday you choose.
I was on a coffee break last week and asked a co-worker, "have you failed today?" He was taken aback by the question. I explained to him that failure is learning what does not work, and he liked that a little better. I am happy to say that I failed this weekend. I did a pilot of my online seminar with trusted friends and family and discovered a few opportunities for improvement. My friend Pamela Diggs had a little sign on her desk that said, "A comfort zone is a desert. Nothing grows there." I am enjoying putting myself out there. Taking measured risks has been very exhilarating. When is the last time you took a chance? When is the last time you failed?
But, and there is always a but – I'm not as strong as you. "Failure hurts; I am not comfortable feeling like an idiot." I have been there. I used to cry every day in high school math class when the teacher corrected me. When you realize that people who correct you are trying to help you, it does get easier. I appreciate people who are willing to risk short term hurt feelings to help someone achieve long term growth. Do you want to walk around with spinach in your teeth? I was conducting training at work, and a typographical error was pointed out on the first slide. I was excited to be able to model being receptive to feedback. They saved me from any potential future embarrassment. Feedback truly is a gift. Speaking and hearing the truth is powerful.
I am fortunate to have people in my life like Lisa Brooks, who are willing to tell me the truth. It is easy to get tunnel vision when you are working on a goal. I managed to make a pivot to be able to move forward with my presentation, but I got so involved with making the material perfect that I forgot about the goal. Will I have extra work to do? Yes. Is it worth it? Totally. One of my co-workers apologized for giving me extra work when they shared their feedback. They did not expect me to do such thorough follow up. I shared with them that the feedback is always welcome because I need to be able to improve our processes and find strategies that work with our changing demographics.
Being able to receive feedback is a process. It did not happen overnight. It has taken me over a decade to get comfortable with failure. Sometimes when people provide feedback, you may want to crawl into a ball and die. It can be very discouraging because it threatens your worldview. Byron Katie said, "When I argue with reality, I lose – but only 100% of the time." Once I surrender to the truth, I can navigate the change and grow. I am not going to tell you it is easy or fun. It does get more comfortable, and I am reaching a phase in life where the challenge of change is getting to be fun and exciting. Are you ready to fail today?
