Sunday, April 25, 2010
MAC-Week 3-Reading Response
Things that make you go, hmmmm.....
"Mistakes can be like ice. If we resist them, we may keep on slipping into a posture of defeat." (p. 103). This statement hit me smack in the face during my reading this week. Not too long before writing this post I blogged about not liking to go back and readdress mistakes that could have been prevented if I had known the direction of the task more clearly. I think this was be being a bit whiny. I know that mistakes are inevitable in my life. I've made my fair share of mistakes and I'm sure I have many, many more waiting for my future. I guess the "ah ha" moment for me in this statement was the part referring to resisting those mistakes and basically setting myself up for permanent failure. I have come very far in this process of life and have hit several patches of "ice". Some of those patches I did not allow growth for learning to occur and as a result I faced some defeat along the way. The previously mentioned statement goes on to say " If we include mistakes in our definition of performance, we are likely to glide through them and appreciate the beauty of the longer run." (p. 103) I am no more immune to mistakes than any other human being on this planet. I think the thing I am taking away from this is that mistakes are going to happen. How I deal with those mistakes determines the success of my overall performance.
Zander, R. & Zander, B. (2000). The art of possibility: Transforming professional and personal life. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
1 COMMENTS:
@Romel - I am so glad you picked this quote to respond to. I had almost forgotten it, and it definitely deserved some extra attention. Don't think you are alone in resisting the mistakes. It is our nature to defend ourselves against them. I also have to admit to whining about having to redo the AR stuff. I spent considerable energy resisting before I glided through the corrections.