My 10-month old son is learning how to do many things these days. He’s crawling like crazy, and now learning how to pull himself up to standing by holding on to a chair leg, the couch, a table, my leg. He’s listening hard to noises we make, and learning how to say them himself (they’re not complicated noises obviously… consonant noises like da-da and ga-ga and the ever-popular raspberry noise!). One day a couple weeks ago I watched him attempt to stand using the dining room table and chair. He worked on this for about 20 minutes before he got tired or distracted. For every time he successfully stood up, he attempted and fell at least twice. The next day, he was at it again. Now, he’s a pro and can pull himself up using only one hand.
As I have been watching him, I’m amazed by his perseverance. Where does a tiny child get the urge and desire to try and try again? Of course, he gets frustrated. Of course, he falls and hits his head, or knee, or fingers. But after he cries for a minute, he usually gets right up and tries it again.
As adults, we tend to not be as resilient as children. While we’ve all heard the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again”, how many of us have really done this lately? We tend to get complacent, expecting that things will go our way without much effort. If I run a meeting that doesn’t go well, present a plan that falls flat, or pitch our services to a new business prospect who chooses someone else, I’m disheartened and disappointed, and sometimes feel like I will never succeed.
Mostly, though, I’m thinking about the failure from every angle. What should I have done instead to achieve success? Should I have prepared differently? Been more creative in my approach to the problem? Talked to others to get more information before beginning? How can I change my work so it’s better the next time?
And then, I pick myself up, dust myself off, and get ready to do it all over again the next time, learning from my son in the process.
No comments:
Post a Comment