Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Learning from our mistakes

“Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” – James Joyce

I think we learn more from our mistakes than our successes. I am sure by now a lot of you are finding that those New Year's Resolutions are getting harder and harder to maintain.
If you fall off the wagon look at why, what happened? Find the formula and then change it. If in laws visiting + work stress = a box of cookies, don’t beat yourself up about it! First, acknowledge what happened. Then, look at why that box of cookies was suddenly so irresistible. Um, can you say stress? What could you have done to help relieve some stress before you got to that breaking point? Brainstorm. Think now about some possible solutions to this obstacle before it comes up again.

Taking action, not dwelling on our past mistakes, is how we get closer to our goals. Because the very definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result – you aren’t insane now, are you?