Cultivate the ability to think by yourself and make decisions. Learn from failure, do not fear it.
Initiative is the courage to make decisions and act. People who take the initiative know when to take action.
With the information we’ve been given, we act with self-control. We move forward with initiative without fear of failure, even though we might make mistakes.
We are all imperfect. We will all periodically fall short of our ambitions. If fear of failure holds us back from taking effective action, we will never reach our potential. Learning from failure helps us to avoid repeating costly mistakes. Through adversity and obstacle, we become stronger, better people.
Teams that make more mistakes than others eventually outperform them too. Doers make mistakes. Doing nothing or repeating the same thing over and over are the biggest mistakes of all. We cannot fail to act when action is needed. We act anyhow with the knowledge we might fail.
We might become incredibly frustrated with others because they seemed afraid to take risks and make mistakes. We want to be the kind of person that takes action, and we want to surround ourselves with others who do the same. We want to identify gaps in opportunities and take the initiative. It frustrates us when others are more worried about making mistakes, when they are more worried about how they are perceived than their work quality. Mistakes shouldn’t hold us back, as long as we don’t repeat the same ones repeatedly. We need to turn away from conservative practices and share our learnings. Careless mistakes aren’t the right mistakes.
Mistakes made from broadening thought, expanding the problem, or coming with a brand-new approach teach the most useful lessons. If we weren’t making mistakes, we didn’t have the right proximity to the problem. If we aren’t pushing against our skills' edge, we aren’t going about our practice correctly.
PRACTICE
When was the last time you attempted something new and it didn’t work out? How did the failure impact you?
Describe an event in your life when fear was present, but you did what you needed to do anyway.
COMMIT
[ ] I commit pressing boundaries of my life to reach my greatest potential.
Alongside technical skills, people who can master a range of subjective skills are better able to influence, deal with ambiguity, bounce back from setbacks, think creatively, and manage themselves successfully in their pursuit of mastery. Learn more about applying craft skills in the modern world.