Mistakes & HAKUNA MATATA Moments

Mistakes & HAKUNA MATATA Moments…

Mistakes. We all make ‘em.

OneMoreStep Thought for the week: Good News!  If we look beyond the surface…look harder…peel the layers back…we can feel better about those mistakes we make and the bad days we have.  As long as we learn from them...we can say Hakuna Matata…it means no worries.

Mistakes

Only one perfect man ever walked this Earth…so by default, nobody is perfect…including you and me.  However, I get it…we want to nail it, crush it, and feel great about it, whatever it is.  The reality is we’ll make mistakes along the way. 

The boss will say he/she needs it one-way, and we produce it another.  We set out to make our special someone feel the magic, feel our love, and/or feel our support…and occasionally we fall short.  We misspell, misspeak, misunderstand, miss the mark, and we make mistakes…we’re human.  It’s what we do.  You and I make mistakes.  Our students, our teams, our staffs, our friends, and our loved ones alike…we all make mistakes.

Then we get down on ourselves.  We get down on our staff.  We get down on our boss.  We get down on our students.  We get down on our friends, family, and loved ones…but…we can go OneMoreStep…look beyond that mistake.  Look beyond that situation…what can we learn from it? 

The minute we identify and recognize a key learning, a lesson, and/or a pearl of wisdom from a mistake that we or someone else makes…

BOOM…there’s our Hakuna Matata Moment…

1.   Apologize for it      

2.  Fix it     

3.  Learn from it    

4.  Crush it next time…

…No worries…Hakuna Matata

For leaders, we can go Go OneMoreStep, and make sure our teams, peers, family, and friends know that it’s okay to not be okay sometimes…let them know it’s okay to make mistakes. 

Ask them – Did we learn anything from this?  If the answer is yes, then go that simple, but often missed OneMoreStep to make them feel better…as long as they learned something, tell them – Hakuna Matata…it means no worries.  (Don’t forget about the person in the mirror either…tell him or her too.)

One for the road…

We all have bad days.  Sometimes we’re just in a bad mood.  Other times…maybe more often than not, we find ourselves having a bad day because of an unfavorable, or not so magical interaction with someone else. 

People say things, email things, do things, and/or act in such a way that upsets us.  We’re often made to feel embarrassed, inadequate, talked down to, or just plain upset, mad, or sad…by things other people say or do.

A Generous Approach…

Several weeks ago at Central Christian Church, senior pastor, Jud Wilhite, told a story about a couple that had been married for over 50 years.  When asked how to stay married to one person while maintaining such a healthy, strong and loving relationship for so many years…the husband said this:

  In any situation, think of the most generous explanation for whatever he/she says or does…and accept it as reality…and move on.

My take away from that is to simply assume positive intent…from bosses, friends, family, staff, Guests, Customers, students…think of the most generous explanation for:

·      Why he/she didn’t say hello

·      What made them say such things, in the way they said them

·      How their email came across or made us feel

·      Why they don’t listen

Maybe there is a reason we don’t know about…maybe not.  Everybody has stuff, and maybe there’s an underlying reason for his or her words or actions.  Maybe not.  Coming up with the most generous explanation for what is said and how it makes us feel…that can also be another Hakuna Matata Moment opportunity. 

With this approach, bad days not only get better, they become fewer…and we’ll have better days as a result…

Learn from mistakes…think of the most generous explanation for anything said or done, and I wish you many, many Hakuna Matata Moments OneMoreStep at a time…

Have a great day.

Taylor

Wishing you No Worries...for the rest of your days...

Hakuna Matata