You Need to Try to Solve This Self Improvement Riddle!

Today’s post is going to be a little different in that it will be in the form of a riddle.  It’s an important topic, so I wanted to write it in a way that hopefully will be memorable and impactful to you.  Enjoy…

You may not recognize me right away.  So, let me tell you a bit about myself to see if you can figure out who I am.

We have had a very close relationship for your whole life – you and me.  I appear, disappear and then reappear again.  However, I am not a close friend or family member.

Sometimes I keep you up at night.  You just can’t get me out of your head.  No, I am not your secret crush.

You may do something, and I may appear right away.  Other times, you may do something, and you may not see me show up for days, months or sometimes even years and sometimes I never show up!

My bio may not be as entertaining as Rick’s, Bri’s and Howie’s bios, but it’s important that you read it, so let’s go!

My Bio…

I’m not bi-polar, nor do I have multiple personalities but there is an infinite number of me in the world.

You may see the same version of me only once, and you may see the same version of me many times.  How many times you see me is ultimately up to you.

I am not any of the school teachers you have had in your life, but you can (and hopefully do) learn a lot from me.

I can appear to be intimidating and some people are very scared of me. However, being scared of me can just make things worse.

Sometimes, I can really get in your head, that is…if you let me.

There are times that I appear because you are nervous and unsure of yourself…

And the odd time, I appear when you try new things, not always, but it does happen.

Your friends, family, and strangers may have had relationships with me in the past.  You should take notes and learn from their experiences with me. By the way, they were all non-sexual, just so we are clear!

Many of you spend way too much time thinking about me after I’m gone. It’s flattering, don’t get me wrong.  And I suppose absence does make the heart grow fonder, but in reality…it is not productive for you.

Since this blog takes tools, philosophies, and theories from business and applies them to self-improvement, I guess we should discuss how I affect the business world.

Me and Business…

As much of an impact as I have in your personal life, I am just as prevalent in the business world. You may think I am being cocky and full of myself.  However, I just see it as being truthful.

Many employees get extremely insecure when I am around. Some of them even think I am going to get them fired.

Guilty as charged.

However, the great CEOs understand my value and accept me for who I am.  Not only that, many of them have even given me credit for their success.

Let’s look at some business examples…

  Netflix CEO Reed Hastings was quoted as saying they had TOO MANY hit shows – “Our hit ratio is way too high right now,” – if you can believe that. Wait, what? He thought that I was not involved enough. He wanted me more involved as it would mean they were taking more risks and trying more crazy things.

  Amazon’s Jeff Bezos gives me a lot of credit for the success of his company. He says that I am responsible for Amazon’s growth and innovation.  Thanks, Jeff!  By the way, next time, get Rick the right shoes sooner!

  Coke CEO James Quincey, shortly after he took over, explicitly said my lack of involvement in day-to-day operations meant that rank and file employees weren’t trying hard enough. You are preaching to the choir Jimmy boy, you are preaching to the choir!

  Thomas Edison’s success in creating the light bulb would not have been possible without me. Again, I’m not being cocky, it’s the damn truth.

  Michael Jordan, who in my opinion is the best basketball player of all time, has been quoted famously about saying how I am responsible for all his success. Aw shucks, thanks MJ!

A Little Bit More About Me

A few more things about me before I reveal my identity…

Some people jump all over you when they see you and me together.  Screw ‘em, they are haters.  Who cares what they think!

Then there are other people who just get upset at us.  Perhaps you need to just let them know that we weren’t together on purpose, it just happened.  Best thing to do is ask for forgiveness.  People are very forgiving.

A little friendly advice…the worst thing you can do because of me is to stop trying.

I don’t recommend this, but there is a way for you to avoid me altogether. And that is to do nothing with your life.

Oh, one more thing!

You make me every day, often many times per day. Sometimes I am a result of your extreme hunger, sometimes I am not.  Yet, I am not food.

Ok, ok, I think it’s time that I introduce myself.

Scroll down to see who I am…and to learn how to deal with me…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am a mistake!  When there is more than one of me, which there usually are, we are mistakes!

From now on I am just going to refer to myself in the 3^rd person, “cause that’s how I roll”.

Now that you know who I am, how about some tips for learning from mistakes?

Use It or Lose It – Tips on Learning from Mistakes

Mistakes are a part of life and an important one at that.  Learning from mistakes is the only productive way to deal with them.

Here are a few ways that you can go from letting mistakes disempower you to having your mistakes empower you by learning from mistakes.

  Own them and admit to them – We all make mistakes, getting defensive and not accepting them is not how winners handle mistakes. Own them and accept them.

  Figure out why they happened – Go back and think about what caused the mistake.

  Try not to let them get you again – Now that you know why they happened, figure out what you can and will do to prevent them from happening again.

  Forgive yourself when you make them – It’s not the end of the world, we are all human and make mistakes. Give yourself a break, no one is perfect.

  Use mistakes as a motivator – There’s nothing wrong with having a little chip on your shoulder if that’s what it takes to motivate you.

  Don’t be scared of mistakes – Being scared to make a mistake will just increase the chance that you make a mistake.

  Don’t care too much what others think – Caring what others think about your mistakes is often worse than making the mistake itself. Do what you think is right and ignore the noise. Most people don’t really care anyway, they are too busy thinking about themselves.

  Take risks – Most successful people have taken a lot of risks, made mistakes, corrected them and then become successful.

  Know you are going to fail – Expect that you are going to make mistakes and make a lot of them. You have made them before and dealt with them and you will deal with them again.

  Embrace them as results – You and only you can control how you react to mistakes. If you simply treat them as results, instead of successes or failures, you won’t get emotional. You will be able to learn from them rationally and use them to make you better.

  Don’t obsess over them – Acknowledge them, learn from them and then forget about them. They got you once, fine. However, if you obsess over them you are letting them get you again.

When to Use It:

  Always and forever for the rest of your life. You have made mistakes in the past, you will make them in the present and you will make them in the future.  Learning from mistakes is something you need to get good at!

What Do You Think?

  Were you able to figure out the riddle?

  How do you deal with mistakes?

  Do you have any other advice for learning from mistakes? Please share in the comments below.

 

Until next time, keep learning from mistakes and as always…PYMFP!
— Rick

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