
When you find the lesson, write it down.
I was working with one of my clients recently about moving on, moving on from relationship fallout and the changes coming in her life. She found this tip helpful:
1. Look for the lesson in the situation.
When you are standing there looking at disappointment or perceived failure focus on something else. Instead allowing your emotions to grab your hand and take you for a run down the beach of the emotional ocean, STOP and shift your focus to investigative reporter. Search through the rubble with the idea that you can find the lesson that you learned. If you can find the lesson in the situation you face you improve your chances of not repeating the experience.
Think about video games for an example. You play the game and with each level you are getting better. However, if your character gets killed on level 5, then you get to try again. But you never get to go to level 6 until you have mastered or at least passed level 5. In this case, (the same as real life) you can continue to work at mastering level 5 OR you can quit. I see many people who hit those challenges the very first time, they get knocked down and they stay down and say that it isn’t meant to be, or they blame outside circumstances. Just shift the focus. Shift the focus to finding the lesson you learned and you can come away from any “failure” (Failure is in quotes because I don’t see many situations as failures just lessons, just exercises to hone us for success.) as a success.
Maybe it’s about intent. If you stand over the rubble of some tragedy in your life with the intent to grieve, then you cry and you think back on what you had and grieve the loss of how things could have been. (And it is reasonable and healthy to do some of that) However, if you stand over the rubble with the intent to find the lesson, you are going to find ways to improve your future experience. When you can accept what is, you move faster towards what can be.
This idea works with business and marketing just the same. If you find that you are having the same challenges come up time after time, go back to the last experience and find the lesson, no matter what it takes, so you can move to the next level.
What lessons have you learned lately?