|
1. They seek discomfort.
Instead of just striving to learn, they understand and accept that feeling uncomfortable is a necessary part of living. Allowing for discomfort sets you on a faster path to growth. If you want to get it right, it can feel wrong at first.
2. They set a mistake budget/allowance.
To encourage and allow for trial and error, set a goal for the minimum number of mistakes you are willing to make per day or per week. When you expect to stumble, you ruminate about it less — and improve more.
3. They ask for advice, not feedback.
Feedback is backward-looking — it leads people to criticize you or cheer for you. Advice is forward-looking — it leads people to coach you.
You can get your critics and cheerleaders to act more like coaches by asking a simple question: “What’s one thing I can do better next time?” Or my favorite question, “This would have been even better, if...?”
4. They figure out which sources to trust.
Decide what information and counsel is worth absorbing — and which should be filtered out. Listen to the people or voices who have relevant expertise (credibility), know you well (familiarity), and want what’s best for you (care).
5. They strive for excellence, not perfection.
Progress comes from maintaining high standards, not eliminating every flaw. Identify some shortcomings that you can accept. Consider where you truly need the best and identify plenty or areas where you can settle for “good enough”.
At the end of the day, without SHAME AND BLAME, ask yourself: How did you make yourself better? How did you make someone else or someone’s else’s situation better?
6. They are their own last judge.
It’s better to disappoint others than to disappoint yourself. Before you release something into the world, assess whether it represents you well. If this was the only work people saw of yours, would you be proud of it?
7. They turn the daily grind into a source of daily joy.
To maintain harmonious passion, design practice around deliberate play. Set up fun skill-building challenges or artistic expressions. I love to do jigsaw puzzles and needlepoint, where I can be producing something NOT necessary or filled with responsibilities.
8. When they’re stuck, they back up to move forward.
When you hit a dead-end, it might be time to turn around and find a new path. It feels like regressing, but it’s often the only way to find a route to progress. Someone gave me a great metaphor years ago of a car stuck in the mud. Our reaction is to put the gas pedal down and get out of there. When what is actually needed, is a slower, rocking back and forth to get out. Pedal down on the gas ensures we are going to go deeper in the stuckness.
9. They teach what they want to learn.
The best way to learn something is to teach it. You understand it better after you explain it — and you remember it better after you take the time to recall it. This is a superpower of mine as I literally am in constant learning, reading, listening, even in movie watching, the lessons are there.
10. They engage in mental time travel.
When you’re struggling to appreciate your progress, consider how your past self would view your current achievements. If you knew five years ago what you’d accomplish now, how proud would you have been?
| 
