Hard Learning, Have You Experienced It?
Hard learning doesn’t necessarily mean difficult. Have you been known to learn something the hard way?
Life is full of lessons if you open your mind to see them.
Sometimes I ask seminar participants, “What is a learning moment?”
Someone almost always quickly jumps to the explanation of a mistake, a failure, and then that circumstance becomes an opportunity to learn from the mistake. Makes sense, right?
I usually ask a second question, “Can you learn something from an experience when things go right?”
Simple, yet often overlooked. In many cases, you will get more momentum when you focus a little more on the things that are working. When people recognize the correct way, they can replicate it.
In success or in failure, there are learning moments.
Hard Learning
What have you learned the hard way?
Maybe it is closely following posted speed limits, or coming to a complete stop at a stop sign? A costly and embarrassing traffic citation may be a lesson learned the hard way.
Perhaps in school or college, it was studying for the exam, not procrastinating until the last minute, and to get started early.
In the workplace, it may be learning what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. Workplace success is as much about navigating as it is about being right or wrong.
Have you learned to be more organized? Do you have your Word documents or Excel spreadsheets stored in a logical manner with meaningful names in specific folders? Can you find them when you need them?
What about a missed bill, paid late, resulting in an additional charge? Does that pinch? Have you learned?
Life is full of lessons. Some of them are learned the hard way.
Learning may not always be difficult, but sometimes it is hard.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
