Translating Fear of Wrong Decisions to Learning From Wrong Decisions

Yesterday during my morning walk, I was reading, yes on my iPhone, a Daily Om newsletter on Self-Determination. In reading, I came across a sentence that alluded to how we are stopped by the fear of wrong decisions. I know this is a common barrier for me, having been raised on the sanctity of right decisions, and the utter sinfulness of wrong ones. This is also a habit I witness overwhelmingly in my coachees. This fear of wrong decisions is a problem when taken too far, and especially when it robs us of learning and the opportunities that learning takes advantage of.

With adequate time to reflect, I think you would agree that there has been a rare decisions made which did not have a risk of being wrong, yet, we generally have made the decision, reaped the benefits of its rightness, and the learnings of its wrongness without the world or our lives coming to an end. In situations where we procrastinated endlessly, we neither benefited or learned from our procrastination. I acknowledge here that sometimes the best decision is to sit tight but even in those cases, we should decide deliberately, and without fear, thus reserving our energy to better adapt to and learn from whatever happens, right or wrong.

As I have more and more decisions behind me in life, I have have developed confidence in this method of investing my energy more in learning from, and adapting to, wrong decisions than in fearing them, as they are inevitable. I am not perfect at it but I improve with every mindful decision. I encourage this perspective in you also.

Remember, every decision has a risk of right and wrong in it. Celebrate the right and learn from the wrong, but do not be paralyzed by fear of the latter.

Watching our Work!

This blog post has relocated to a book, The WiseWorking Handbook. Please visit it there.  

Please purchase a copy at Balboa Press (http://bit.ly/1wfqwBU). 

For signed copies, reach me at craig@wiseworking.com. 

Thanks in advance for reading the book and spreading the word about it.

Finally, please rate it at Amazon.com, BN.com, GoodReads.com, and other websites where books are sold and reviewed. 

What readers are saying:

"The WiseWorking Handbook is written in a down to earth, engaging style.” - Bud Bulanich

"Get this book. Read it. Keep it handy for when you need a little inspiration or some solid advice on how to work wisely and increase your value at work.” - Bud Bulanich

Do It Anyway!

I have been thinking alot this week about the Ten Paradoxical Commandments by Keith Kent. These commandments are encapsulated in a poem, Anyway which I have pasted below. I also dig the musical adaptation of this poem by the Roches from their album Zero Church. Take a read.

Anyway by Keith Kent

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self centered

Forgive them anyway

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives
Be kind anyway

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies
Succeed anyway

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you
Be honest and frank anyway

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight
Build anyway

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous
Be happy anyway

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow
Do good anyway

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough
Give the world the best you've got anyway

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God
It was never between you and them anyway

This poem moved me because it speaks to many of the paradoxical elements of work, indeed of life. It encourages us to do right and well for Purpose's sake regardless of others' action, inaction, support or opposition. So often we allow our motivation to be tied to others. We renege on obligations to pursue our purpose because others react in neutral or negative ways.

This poem reminds us that in our work we should expect opposition, jealousy, destruction, selfishness, betrayal, unreasonableness, illogic, ulterior motives & enemies. This being as it is, we should not allow any of these barriers & violations to distract us from our purpose. Weshould do what we are here to do ANYWAY! That's rich! It reminds me of a favorite Biblical reference, Colossians 3:23-24: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. A more liberal, secular translation might say, work as though I am working for the Purpose at hand knowing that such achievement is its own reward.

Take stock of purposes you have given up on because of barriers, violations or opposition. Recommit & get back in action on these purposes ANYWAY!

Don't Call The Game Before Its Over

This blog post has relocated to a book, The WiseWorking Handbook. Please visit it there.  

Please purchase a copy at Balboa Press (http://bit.ly/1wfqwBU). 

For signed copies, reach me at craig@wiseworking.com. 

Thanks in advance for reading the book and spreading the word about it.

Finally, please rate it at Amazon.com, BN.com, GoodReads.com, and other websites where books are sold and reviewed. 

What readers are saying:

"The WiseWorking Handbook is written in a down to earth, engaging style.” - Bud Bulanich

"Get this book. Read it. Keep it handy for when you need a little inspiration or some solid advice on how to work wisely and increase your value at work.” - Bud Bulanich