Remember that bad decision you made that you regret? You, know, the one that creeps back into your mind almost daily.
Instead of ruminating on it, beating yourself up, and wishing you’d have acted differently, channel that energy positively and ask: what can I learn from this?
Too often we get caught in rumination. We generate a lot of unnecessary frustration and anxiety about things that are over and done, or that are (and maybe always were) outside of our control.
The proactive person asks: what can I learn from this, and where can I apply that lesson right now to something that is within my control.
The strategic person also asks where it can be applied to improve future positioning.
There is a lesson to learn in every mistake, failure, rejection, poor decision, misallocation of resources, and regret.
The key to proactive, strategic behavior is simply uncovering the lesson and directing that energy toward positive, forward motion. If you want to increase the amount of proactive, strategic behavior in your life, it’s really that simple.
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