Wanna Change? Give Mistakes a Huge Hug!

Last week I wrote about Prospective Hindsight as a means to better manage our lives by understanding our behavioural patterns. If you missed it, take a moment to take a peak, especially the advice delivered by a 4 year old around goal setting and self-compassion. So insightful!

Which leads me into my blog post today. Your gonna need a self-compassionate mindset to tackle all those goals you have set for yourself this year. So many people give up their learning and growth plans because of one slip, one setback, one bad experience or one mistake. PLEASE DON’T!  Because learning and change takes time. It is an evolution. It is all about direction NOT perfection. So set those goals, head in your desired direction and enjoy the journey.

Mistakes are not tools of mass self-concept destruction; they are wonderful little tools to help us clarify and learn so much more about ourselves.

If you don’t believe me, check out the very reputable Huffington Post and learn about 9 Powerful Lessons We Can Learn From Our Mistakes. See! Even they agree 🙂

Pull Up A Couch

…and check out this great TEDTalk from the fantastic, and very popular author, Elizabeth Gilbert.

Success, Failure and the Drive to Keep Creating

Elizabeth Gilbert was once an “unpublished diner waitress,” devastated by rejection letters. And yet, in the wake of the success of ‘Eat, Pray, Love,’ she found herself identifying strongly with her former self. With beautiful insight, Gilbert reflects on why success can be as disorienting as failure and offers a simple — though hard — way to carry on, regardless of outcomes.

Even she experienced setbacks, mistakes and disappointments. So if we want our lives to be different, lets pull on our gown up pants and start looking at mistakes as guides, sherpas, teachers…not self-esteem wreckers.

Change

For Students

Over the next few weeks, I am going to start uploading a series of videos that I have created to help enhance the learning process. I truly believe that any type of life training, whether that be in a conventional school setting, on the job or in your life, learning can change everything for the better. For me, school profoundly changed by life by allowing me to gain greater control over my ability to support myself and my destiny. I believe that people can learn and grown and the following topics are what I know to be the most fundamental skills needed to succeed in any learning endeavour.

• Project Managing Your Academic Experience: Organization & Time Management
• Note-Taking Strategies: Capturing the Knowledge
• Leaning into Your Studies: Attitude, Learning Style, Active Learning and Memory Enhancement.
• Being Tested: Strategies for Writing Quizzes, Tests and Exams.
• Learning to Communicate: Research and Writing Skills
• Presentations: Learning the Tips & Tricks
• Working in Groups: Strategies for Making the Process Smooth and Effective

There is no need to base your entire student self-esteem on past experiences. When you know better you do better. So let’s start making some mistakes together, feel a wee bit awkward and then start enjoying your new found success skills!