“The fewer mistakes you make twice, the easier life is.”
-Martina Navratilova
Learn from our mistakes. That is the essential message from today’s quote by Tennis legend Martina Navratilova. Because when we do that our life will be better for it. Now the question arises how can we avoid making the same mistake twice? This is where our self awareness and self management skillsets come into play. In 2018 Dr. Alice Boyes wrote an article in Psychology Today about 5 Tips for How to Stop Repeating the Same Mistakes:
1. Vowing to never make a particular mistake again is the wrong approach. We often will so we must focus on developing strategies to prevent making the exact mistake again with same level of impact..
2. Develop strategies for prevention. The problem solving approach needs to be adjusted to the exact challenge you are facing and should be on something you want to do rather than not.
3. Put aside time and mental energy. You need to give yourself time to come up with a strategic plan (what strategies to use) and put forth that required dedication to enact change.
4. Develop strategies for harm minimization. This is where you have a back up plan for when you things don’t work out or you stumble from time to time because it is bound to happen. You just need to be prepared for when it does.
5. Understand your “Seemingly Irrelevant Decisions.” These are decisions are self-sabotaging where you subconsciously have already set yourself up for failure because your know that typically the result of that problem solving decision you just came up has set you up for failure in the past. Be careful of this one.
If we take the time to utilize these 5 tips then we can prevent the same mistakes from occurring leading to a better life for ourselves.
What does this quote mean to you and how can you apply today’s message towards improving your self awareness and self management skills?
Becoming The Change 