Archive | April, 2011

Why do we fail and how do we move forward from it?

On March 20, 2011 I challenged myself to make 30 posts in 30 days. Today is April 24, 2011, and I posted 11 times in that 30 day span. I failed in the challenge I set for myself. I apologized if I disappointed some of you who were looking forward to more frequent posting.

No matter how much we wish we could go back in time and change something, the reality is that the only we can do is make the best decision going forward. We all have mistakes, shortcomings, and failures, and we cannot change them. No one is immune to them. But we can only move forward. And we can learn from them. In today’s post I plan to dissect why we fail at the goals we set for ourselves and what we can learn from them using forward, using my recent challenge failure as an example.

Unrealistic goals

Above all, goals must be realistic. If your goals aren’t at all reasonable for you, then you’re running a race that you can’t win (sorry Usain Bolt, I’m never going to set a goal of running faster than you!). Of course, this does not mean goals must be something you are guaranteed to achieve. Being reasonable is different from being certain. It can certainly be reasonable for you to get into medical school, but there’s never a guarantee you will.

How do you know if it’s reasonable? Ask yourself – have there been people in my position that have achieved something like this before? If there has, then perhaps it’s reasonable. But even if no one has, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. It might mean you just need to work harder than anyone has before. But if you need to work 1,000 times harder or grow 10 inches in height to achieve something that someone else like you can’t do, then you might need to rethink things.

Was 30 posts in 30 days unrealistic? It wasn’t impossible. But was it reasonable? Over the last 12 months, I have averaged 4.25 posts per month. I think expecting myself to increase my blogging productivity by 7 was a bit too much to expect of myself. A more realistic goal would probably be to double my average blogging frequency, so something like 8 posts/month or 2 posts/week.

Picking the right goal but the wrong plan

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Keep your eyes on the future and embrace change

*Post 11 in the 30 Posts in 30 Days Challenge

Last night I was audience to a fantastic presentation by Steve Prentice on social media and its integration in business and health.

One of the ideas he spoke about was the importance for leaders not be afraid of the future. We can’t stick to our old ways just because we are afraid to embrace changes in the world around us. If the old way really is better, then of course, keep it. But it’s a mistake to not be open minded and see opportunity in change and being willing to explore them. Finding new opportunity in change and embracing it earlier means finding new areas of growth for a business or organization. If you want to stay ahead, you have to keep up with the new opportunities that change brings.

I’m way behind in the game, but I finally give in to you LinkedIn, you win!

Two important questions

*Post 10 in the 30 Posts in 30 Days Challenge

This past Tuesday I was in a meeting, and at the very beginning, two questions were posed at me:

1. What do I want to do with my life?

2. What drives me to do what I do?

These are two extremely difficult questions, but they are also very important ones. Understanding yourself enough to be able to answer #2 is necessary for answering #1, not only with words, but with your actions too.

So I pose to you the very same questions for reflection: What do you want to do with your life? What drives you to do what you do?