One of the biggest problems facing you is your ability to remember what to do when you need it the most. In other words the ability to execute, retain, execute, retain. When this occurs you naturalize the process, skills are repeated at will and you reach an unconscious competent level.
What then suppresses our ability to remember and maintain this knowledge? Most of us understand what we have learned, but our ability to successfully execute can drop quite quickly to unacceptable levels. Surprisingly it turns out, the root cause is emotions. Emotions affect us in a number of ways; firstly there are emotions such as self-doubt. This is where you begin to worry about your effectiveness or the ability to execute proficiently. You adopt an overly critical view of your position and capacity to execute. With this in place you impose limitations on your self and focus entirely on the obstacles to your success. Fear, anger, hurt, disappointment is another set of emotions that can cause you to focus incorrectly. These emotions cause an instinctive knee-jerk reaction. You follow your perceptions, abandon logic and attempt to force a solution based on your previous coping mechanisms or level of comfort. Then there are emotions such as fear of failure or rejection. With the idea that mistakes are wrong and if you make a mistake then somehow, you will be harshly judged and criticized by peers or superiors. The concept of making mistakes has for all intent and purposes developed a stigma. If you make a mistake then you are some how deficient.
So what are some of the answers to help you with this? One is to change your perceptions. The path to learning is riddled with mistakes. Even a baby learns to walk by first falling. Second make every mistake an opportunity. Research your mistakes. The model therefore is as follows:
Mistakes are healthy provided they lead to questions and questions lead to answers and answers lead to solutions.
(M=Q=A=S)
Society has taught us that mistakes are bad. Remember to stop. Engage the analytical side of your brain (Your Adult Ego state). The process above demands that your perceptions be tested. It is a process that contains structure and form. Emotions do not. There are no confines to the imagination.
So here is a short recap to help you increase your ability to learn and benefit from your mistakes.
- Recognize that each mistake gives you very important information. Post mortem opportunities that provide invaluable intelligence that you did not have before.
- Post mortem exercise leads eventually to a Pre-mortem approach. This means that you can plan an approach based on previous knowledge. It provides you with alternatives.
- Be aware of how critical you are of yourself. Stop criticizing your failures. Recognize that learning takes time. If you can do it right the first time great, but how many of us can learn a new skill and put it into real time use without any practice or making mistakes? Focusing on what you are doing well, will also motivate you to persevere.
- Analyze all your actions, successes and failures; you have the tools. Decide what you can do differently.
- Keep a journal so that you can track your progress.
6. Beware of perceptions. Always ask yourself is this perception based or fact based?
7. All of the above gives you an analytical advantage.
