The Ultimate Guide To 4 things to Remember to Learn from Your Mistakes

Posted on May 11, 2018 |

What’s next? That was always such an easy question for me. The situation was basically irrelevant. I sprung into action. I was on the ground running, brain and body immediately creating a road map. And you know me; we are not talking about a straight line to a pot of gold. This map was multifaceted with twists, turns and surprises. Not much room for the unknown. And usually it went according to plan. Usually until a few years ago.

Last week, I had an interesting conversation with a Social Work colleague about an article she read. The gist, apparently as we age, we make more and more mistakes. This was shocking to me. Wasn’t I supposed to be smarter, stronger, nimbler?

As I thought about it, it began to make sense. In my younger years while I honed my craft, raised my kid and enjoyed my life, I did things I knew how to do. I got better at them over time. Now, semi-retired, there are so many things that are new to me. Suddenly, this making more mistakes thing has merit. I’ve realized it is absolutely true for me. Don’t get me wrong, some of those early mistakes were doozies. Lessons long learned. Now I am open to making totally new mistakes. I’m in a space I’ve never been before. This time being off-road means I travel without GPS and no maps. What’s next? Usually a mistake… (and that includes proofreading!)

Research on being successful hails grit as the key ingredient. I’m very gritty. I’ve learned it’s just not enough. My recent blog post on how to have a great second act takes a look at people who springboard from mistakes. When I think about what’s next and how to get there, I grit my teeth and say GGRR.

The full GGRR explanations can be found in my Sixty&Me Blog Post. GGRR isn’t a roadmap, it won’t tell you what to do. It is a guide on how to use hindsight that propels me forward. And hopefully you too:

1. Learn to GIVE: Your SUPER PURPOSE™

2. GROW from your mistakes, don’t just recover, evolve.

3. Find you own REDEMPTION. Your inner peace. That place where you are good at what you do and are truly comfortable in your own skin. .

4. Know your RELEVANCE and live it everyday.

What’s Next for you?