Life Tip Tuesday

With me changing the frequency of these newsletters, I thought it would be fitting to discuss learning, trying new things, and (sometimes) failing. As I’ve mentioned in some of my previous stories, I’ve tried a lot of different things. There was always the pressure to be the best at each of them through sheer willpower and work ethic.

However, failing has allowed me to improve my skills that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. I like to think I’m a pretty decent writer, but it took a lot of practice to get to this point. I was an ok writer during most of my schooling, but in high school, my literature curriculum required me to write an essay or paper every school day. After that school year, my writing drastically improved, enough that I could enter community college early with one of the top placement test scores.

In college, there were several writing assignments, which most of my professors gave very helpful feedback on, from general advice to specific grammar and phrasing. I even wrote an (unpublished) novel for my last year of high school English. From that, you can probably imagine the number of bad or so-so things I’ve written.

Having to change the frequency of this newsletter from twice a week to once a week, would have bothered me a lot more years ago. It doesn’t bother me as much now because I learned and am adapting based on what I learned. This is even something I recently learned in my day job; the process of researching, trying something, and changing based on what you learned from trying is essential for improvement. This is true on a business level and an individual level.

I recently read The Lean Startup book. While the principles in it are great for product development and business, I think they can just as easily be applied to growing as individuals. If you want to continue growing as a person, it’s important not to get too comfortable. Comfort is the enemy of growth. Instead of having focus groups or potential customers to interview, rely on trusted friends and family to keep you accountable and give advice. Look at what you’re doing, where you want to be, and make a doable plan to get there. And if you’re like me and bite off more than you can chew, it’s ok to reevaluate and adjust the plan.

Takeaways for Today:

• Failure is an opportunity to learn

• Practice is essential to master any skill

• The process of reaching any goal should allow for adjustments; we don’t always make perfect judgments of what we’re capable of