After listening to Dave’s recent podcast on the Art of Losing Well, I reflect on my experience. What he mentioned in his podcast is so true! Here’s my brief story.
When I was young, I was an impatient person. I lacked the patience to complete anything I started. I would try doing so many things and put them aside after a week or two. Honestly, my behaviour upset my mum. So she trained my patience with a five-thousand pieces World Map puzzle. To convince me to complete the puzzle, she told fascinating stories in literature and history.
As a working lady, she is an amazing mother. She spent every night telling legends and scripts like Julius Caesar, Hercules and Hamlet. The rest is history. Her efforts paid off. I finished the World Map puzzle because I wanted to know those places in the stories. I was eight then.
Don’t quit!
I had a terrible manager. She criticised us openly, which hurt our self-esteem. I lost my self-confidence and doubted myself. I thought of quitting. After reading the 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do book, I didn’t tender my resignation. I invested time to improve myself. After two years, I bounced back stronger and wiser than before.
Use the pain to fire your passion and enthusiasm. What is done cannot be undone. Study her criticism with an open mind. Identify why I fail in my job. Step back and switch the momentum. I learned to fail less.
When you fail, don’t simply quit. I invest in shares and mutual funds. We are aware that share prices will go up and down. We may gain some and lose some. Some of my friends quit investing after losing a thousand in the stock market. I prefer to study why those shares were failing or being de-listed. I still invest in shares and mutual funds with better risk management.
Do you watch football matches? Not because I love to play, but I love analysing their team management. I don’t feel excited when there’s a goal. I focus on the game. The game is a management analogy. I have learned how a losing team held on the ground, stayed in the game and won the game.
Enjoy the losing for a better you tomorrow.