Annoying Habit No. 1: Clinging to the Past
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Loading ...I was reading through my Avantgo version of Business Week when I came across this Book Excerpt from Marshall Goldsmith entitled What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. What I like about Business Week is that the articles are really relevant, especially to small business. This book excerpt in particular really struck a chord with me. At the beginning of a new year, it is so easy to reflect back on the events of the past twelve, or more, months and look at what went well and what did not. I learned a long time ago that you can’t change the past, but you can take lessons from the past and apply them to the present and future. Marshall makes a very good point in the following statement.
“It takes me a long time to convince clients that they can’t change the past, or make excuses for it. All they can do is accept it and move on. But for some reason, many people enjoy living in the past, especially if going back there lets them blame someone else for anything that’s gone wrong in their lives. That’s when clinging to the past becomes an interpersonal problem. We use the past as a weapon against others.”
It becomes so easy for some to simply look at what has gone wrong with their lives and find someone else to blame for their failures. Instead of embracing failure, owning it, and using it to improve the chances for success, some individuals prefer to pass the reason for the failure on to someone else. Ultimately you cannot take responsibility for the success if you cannot take responsibility for the failures as well.
As a small business owner, I face the possibility of failure everyday. Will our new sales initiative be successful? Will we have enough cash flow to cover payroll this month? Will we be able to find a larger office space so our employees can work in a comfortable productive environment? Marshall is so right when he says “Stop blaming others for the choices you made.”
The full excerpt is available at Business Week Online.
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