Turn Your Stumbling Blocks into Stepping Stones
While shopping at my favorite boutique, Goodwill, I stumbled on a poster that said: In your vision of the world is the image of yourself. Now hanging on my wall, it reminds me daily that how we view our challenges and tribulations as well as the celebrations of the outside world is so much a projection of how we view ourselves. There is no reality, only our perceptions of it.
What often determines if we feel more like a victim or victor is how we deal with adversity which is like rain in that sooner or later it will happen! You can choose to complain about getting wet or learn to dance in the puddles. The choice is yours.
Stretch both your emotional and mental muscles for learning from your mistakes and changing course is what will ultimately make you a master of change vs. a victim. In my book, Winning!, I had interviewed W. Mitchell who would make your life look like a good luck charm when you see no hope. He simply said, “It is not what happens to you, it is what you do with what happens.” Reflect for a moment on your knee-jerk reaction to the turbulence of troubling times. Do you bounce back or deflate?
Here’s a personal example. I have lost more than I want to admit to con artists in both real estate and the financial industry. So what am I doing? Writing books on both subjects to help others learn from my mistakes but to also recover my losses and much more. Make sense? So, what will you do to turn adversity into your advantage. How can you benefit others and yourself from those mistakes or stumbling blocks that with a bit of creative thinking you can transform into opportunities and new possibilities?
Seventy percent of the decisions we make are wrong. Here’s how to turn your mistakes or setbacks into springboards:
1. Confess. Admit that you are not perfect and messed up.
2. Cut your losses. Holding onto a bad decision does not correct it.
3. Learn the lesson and then let go. Kicking yourself only inflicts pain.
4. Move on! Destiny is by design, not default.
Edie Raether, MS, CSP, is an international speaker, author and wellness coach. A behavioral psychology expert, Edie transforms people’s potential into possibilities and optimal performance. Visit Edie at www.raether.com or www.wingsforwishes.com.