Mastering the Game of Life 1.2
(Wednesday)
Context:
Many people lack humility and modesty. This can be especially true of young people. Yet developing those two qualities will actually give you an edge in the workplace and in life. How? Those who are humble and modest enough to understand they don’t know everything, willingly listen to input from others. They seek out knowledge from others. Especially advice from older, more experienced people.
RULE 2: Learn by example. Learn from others’ wins and losses. Take advice.
Why it’s important: As people move into adolescents, they have an innate desire, even drive, to be independent. They have the desire to be their own person, and make their own decisions and choices rather than be told what to do.
As a young adult, you may feel that you have all the answers. You may believe that older people don’t have a clue. Yet, in most cases, those who are older and more experienced than you can give you insight, direction, and advice that will help you level up and be successful. This is especially true on the job.
If you can be modest and humble enough to listen, there’s a wealth of knowledge to be gathered from people in your life.
This is Good Advice
This is one of the most important pieces of advice you’ll ever get: Listen to the advice of those who you respect.
Chances are, if you listen to someone who is successful, a person that you respect, you can find a way to be like that person by applying their advice.
Watch the video.
Questions to Consider
1) Can you learn from someone who is not successful? Someone who seems to constantly be making mistakes or bad decisions?
2) Do you feel comfortable asking people for advice?
3) Can you relate a time you learned from someone’s good or bad example? What was the situation, what did you learn, and how did you apply what you learned?
Write down your comments in your journal or discuss them with others.
Consider:
CRITICISM is part of LEARNING and GROWTH. If you are fortunate to receive constructive critique and feedback, it means that you are going outside of your comfort zone to learn something new. You are choosing to grow, and understand that you wouldn’t be able to move past your current state unless you received criticism.
If you are not getting criticized, it means you are not taking enough risks or initiative to learn something new and to grow.
Effective Decisions Making: Learning From Business Decision Makers
1. Defining the problem. First, remove all emotion from the situation. Make sure you understand what the actual problem is, not just how the problem makes you feel. CEOs and corporate leaders make informed, not emotional decisions.
2. Specify the answer to the problem. Once you know what the actual problem is, formulate the solution to that problem. If the problem can be stated as a question, make sure you can express the solution as an answer to that question.
3. Deciding what is “right,” rather than what is easiest or acceptable. In the workplace and in life, you may be tempted to take the easy way out. You may be tempted to do what is acceptable. Many businesses these days do just that when making decisions. But always try to consider what the right decision would be, even if it may be the harder or more difficult decision to follow through on. Oftentimes, the harder choice is the right choice.
4. Building into the decision the action to carry it out. All successful CEOs first consider what actions or commitments have to be made before making a final decision. How are we going to implement the decision? Can it realistically be carried out?
5. Testing the validity and effectiveness of the decision against the actual course of events. Did the decision bring about the change or effect we planned for? If not, what did we fail to consider? What could we have done differently to better achieve our goal?
Learn from each decision you make, just like the business leaders who make major decisions on a regular basis.
-Based on the HBR Article Decision Making And Problem Solving: The Effective Decision
Learning in Hours Instead of Years
When you watch someone who is very skilled at their job, understand that it may have taken years to gain that experience and knowledge. Often times they can give you pointers, tips, or lessons in just a few minutes or hours, which took them years to learn.
This means that you can get to a high level of proficiency by getting years of experience from someone else in a short period of time. So the next time an older person tries to give you advice or explain how you can do something better or quicker, rather than allow your pride or ego to get in your way, understand that you can learn a lifetime of knowledge in a much shorter period of time if you’re willing to listen. That’s smart. That’s powerful. That’s how you become successful.
There was a young man who loved to fish with his grandfather who lived up in the mountains. The grandfather was a local, having lived in the area since he was a boy. The two fished along a river that fed into a lake every time the boy visited. The boy’s grandfather would tell him where all the best fishing spots were along the river and on the lake. He would show the boy which lures worked best to catch the different types of fish. He would also take the boy fishing at the best time for catching fish.
Every year tourists would come to fish in the area. Men two and three times the age of the young boy would be amazed at how often and consistently the boy would catch fish. The boy became one of the youngest professional Anglers. When people would ask how the 19-year-old professional had gotten so good, he would explain, I’ve had decades of experience. Do you know what the young man meant?
Metacognitive Goals
For the rest of this week, try to become aware of how well you accept advice, feedback, or constructive criticism. In your journal, write down what you noticed. Do you have room for improvement when it comes to accepting advice or constructive criticism?
Also, try to notice how you have already learned from others’ examples, both good and bad.
The more you can recognize how learning from others has benefited you, the more likely you will continue to learn from others in the workplace and in life.
Thought of the day.
“Experience is a master teacher, even when it’s not our own.”
― Gina Greenlee