Joe Farcht asked:
Practice a behavior once and find out how it is done. Repeat the behavior once more and you correct some mistakes. Practice the same behavior a third time and start to feel more comfortable. Practice it a fourth time and start to feel a little confidence. Practice it six more times and start to build mastery. What’s so hard about mastering new skills that will bring you greater success?
Fear of never having behaved in that new way and failing is a huge personal threat to many people. You are taught to always succeed. Succeed and you get praise. Fail and you get criticism. Criticism hurts the ego. Criticism threatens your self-esteem. Criticism doesn’t feel good.
Criticism is a perspective on experiences that you learn as you grow up. Criticism that hurts is carried into adulthood and can cause stagnation, frustration, hopelessness, and is often carried to the grave. Interpreting a communication as criticism is a choice you make. You can just as easily choose to interpret a communication as valuable feedback that you can use to grow stronger and become even more competent in some area of your work or life. Feedback given by those you work and live with is a gift. Look for the seed of truth in every communication, embrace it, and change your work and life for the better. Instead of fear, criticisms, and hurt, choose the interpretation of a communication as invaluable feedback containing a seed of truth that will help you grow, develop more of your potential / greatness, and positively evolve as a human being.
Some people may try a behavior once and if it doesn’t work, abandon any further attempts. When a child is crawling and starting to walk, what does he or she do? They pull themselves up on some object and step out to walk. What happens? They fall. So they look around, crawl to another place to pull themselves up and step out again. What happens? They fall again. What do they do next? Does the child quit trying to walk thinking that it is too difficult to master? If that were the case, you would be crawling everywhere you go.
Find a new behavior that has the potential to build new skills that would add to your success. Some people would call this an insight into creating greater success in your work and life. Where can you get these insights? Books, CD’s, Articles, Coaches, Mentors, and other leaders are excellent sources of experience, ideas, and information. The best investment that you will ever make is the investment you make in yourself. Hunt those insights down and develop the new attitudes and skills that will create the abundance you dream of in your life. Don’t let fear stop you now. Get whatever resource that you learn best from and start building new skills that must lead to greater success in your work and life. Do it now!