The Things You Learn

Recent happenings at work have me pondering on the phrase "you live and learn". We say this all the time, across all type of situations. But do we ever stop, as things were happening, to observe and actually learn?

Although the happenings at work were not pleasant and the outcome was certainly not my desired outcome, I have been able to learn a few things from them.

1. Make decisions relatively quickly.  Of course some decisions are heavier and more difficult to make than others, but overall, consider the pros and cons and move quickly. Otherwise, as time passes while you are "thinking about it" or "considering it" situations can get murky and complicated.

2. Always trust your gut. This is quite counter-intuitive for me to say and a very difficult lesson for me to learn because my brain pretty much always trumps my gut. But when the gut is involved, there is that persistent voice inside your head (yes, we all have this voice inside our heads, I'm not the only crazy one) that keeps nagging and nagging - listen to it, because it will win, regardless of how much logic and reason you try to apply.

3. Be yourself at all times regardless of the situation. Sometimes this means that you will be passed over for someone who knows how to put on a show in front of the decision makers. This will be difficult to come to terms with in the moment, but at the end of the day you will have a clean conscience and peace of mind that when you do earn your spot that you will have earned it fairly and cleanly, even if it took you longer to get there than the actor.