Don’t Let a Bad Decision Burn You Twice

My first experience with a girlfriend was in the 8th grade.

After three days of holding hands on our way to classes, she dumped me for a 9th grader.

I never dated again...

Okay, of course, that's not true.

My first decision about who to ask out turned out to be bad.

But I made lots of dating decisions after that.

Some were as bad (or worse), and others were good (and even great).

Can you relate?

Here's the thing. When you allow a bad decision (or, more correctly, a bad outcome) to keep you from trusting yourself enough to invest in the next opportunity, you're letting a bad decision burn you twice.

For instance, I've invested plenty of time, money, and attention in books, programs, and coaching that could have delivered better results.

Maybe it was the author, organization, or coach's fault. Maybe it was mine. (Probably a bit of both.)

Regardless, the only thing worse than being burned by bad decisions is to let the story you tell yourself about that decision burn you again. 

Don't allow a past bad result keep you from trusting yourself enough to invest in yourself (and the difference only you can make) when the next good opportunity presents itself.

Sure, get better at making better decisions.

But isn't the only way to do that to keep making decisions?

What bad decisions from the past are you allowing to burn you twice? 

There's a cost to taking action, of course. But in the pursuit of developing your potential and delivering on your promise, is it ever as great as the cost of inaction?

Scott Perry, Encore Life Coach at The Art of Encore Living

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