Tips for learning from yourself

Tips for learning from yourself
By: Marissa Anteby

We all make mistakes. It's human nature. It's what you do after a blunder that shapes your future. Do you assimilate the information you've acquired and let it percolate in your mind? Or do you forgive, forget, and move on? A little of each would be best.

If you don't learn from the past then you are destined to repeat history. However, if you can't escape what's been done, you won't be able to move forward. When you continually drudge up a bygone error, it never stays behind you. It's a constant accomplice to blame for things not going as you think they should. Sometimes you have to pool all of your inner resources and admit that you may not know everything, or that you are wrong, but until you do, the lesson awaiting your discovery will remain undecipherable and ethereal. Accepting responsibility is vital to understanding the part you play. When you stop acting like a victim, you can choose when and how to proceed proactively instead of reactively. Rather than shifting the blame, acknowledge your complacency and adjust your actions accordingly.

Here's a short list of steps you can take to distill life lessons down to their most pertinent points:

1- Be accountable. Don't point fingers unless you're pointing at yourself.

2- Study fastidiously. You learn more from your failures than your successes. Don't let an opportunity pass without recognizing the gift of insight you've been given, even if it is a very well disguised blessing.

3- Brainstorm together. Strategize with someone you trust. Look for ways to repair the situation. Focus on what's positive.

4- Think bigger. Don't let the small stuff distract you from the larger picture. Sometimes you have to take a few steps back in order to see what the next steps forward should be.

5- Carry on. Continue shinning a light on everything you do. Be interested in how you think, act, communicate, relate, etc. If you recognize your patterns, you'll be more apt to grow and evolve. Better to aim high and miss your mark than to regret not trying at all.

Your triumphs and mishaps are yours alone, no one else answers for what you do. Take ownership of your life and let others take ownership of theirs. The only entity you can change, is you. Everything starts and ends with you. When you give up trying to control others, life is simpler.

marissa@embodyinc.com
www.embodyinc.com