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How to really learn from mistakes
Oct. 23, 2006
By: Chandresh Bhardwaj
Everyone knows that mistakes happen much more often when you rush
through tasks, such as not stopping to double-check your exam, leading
you to make careless errors. Similarly, there are no shortcuts toward
attaining a positive attitude. The more you try to hurry, the worse
the situation becomes.
There are so many incidents that result in disasters because of
the desire to go too fast. Have you ever seen trees grow in a couple
of hours or days? Do you ever see flowers blooming right after you
sow the seed? There's a reason why it took you 19 years to reach
college and didn't just sign up for a university as an eight-year-old?
Some things in life need time and discipline to grow properly. All
you need to have is patience.
If you start working hard right now to build a positive attitude,
it will definitely take a good amount of time to complete. First,
you must clean up all the big heaps of garbage before putting the
good stuff in it. When you move into a new house, you clean every
everything to make sure that you live in a hygienic and clean place.
Similarly, you need to clean your negative mind in order to put
positive thoughts into it. Your mind is used to consuming negativity,
therefore, you must accept that it will take a little while to adjust
to this new "diet."
Let's suppose you are going somewhere by car. After you have driven
for five hours, you realize that you ended up in the wrong place
and need to go back. Your next step would be to turn the car around
and go back to the starting point. If it took you five hours to
reach the wrong destination, it will probably take you the same
amount of time, or even a little more, to reach the correct destination.
In the same way, it will take your mind some time to reach its correct
place. Keep at it, as strong desire and discipline are the only
real shortcuts.
Can books on positive attitude automatically change the mind? Before
I answer this, let me ask you one question: suppose you want to
learn how to swim, so you sit by a river all day and never dive
into it. Will you know how to swim by the end of the day? Another
example could be that you buy a book titled Learn to Swim in 30
days, and assume that reading the book will make you good swimmer.
I think you get my drift.
Just like you can't learn to swim without actually diving into a swimming
pool, you can't build an optimistic attitude without practicing this
task with full discipline and faith everyday. The key here is to get
out of your comfort zone, and start doing what is necessary. Always
remember that the difference between average and excellent is only
a little extra effort. If you care enough to make a difference in
your life, and make your dreams a reality, I would suggest thinking
over what you read. No one is a failure and nothing is impossible
in life. You only need to leave your conditioned mind behind and embrace
the wonderful things life has got to offer you!

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