Make Success Your Teacher

When we fail at something, we immediately get into a post-mortem mode. What happened? Why did we not get the results? What is the root cause of the issue? Who is responsible? Etc. We “learn” from our mistakes and then decide what we will do differently if the same situation occurs again.

But what about the good stuff? Do we dive into a “post-success evaluation” mode when things go right? Nope, usually not. And that’s a big miss!! 

We grow not just when we fix mistakes but also when we leverage whatever is going well to generate even better results.

Instead of treating only failures as our teacher, why not let successes teach us too?

So, the next time success knocks on your door, think about these three things:

What specific moves did I or my team make for this success? 

Pinpointing what specifically contributed to the win helps you repeat those winning steps and guide others along the way.

Who else played a part in this win?

Success is always a team sport and rarely a one-man show. Spotting others who helped or contributed creates an opportunity for you to express appreciation – and, more importantly, allows you to leverage those resources again down the road.

What other factors played a role in this success? 

Sometimes, luck or a bunch of events might have played to your advantage. Being aware of it keeps you from falling into the illusion that the success was all your doing.  

These questions help you peep into your success for the rich lessons that it can impart, perhaps even more than what your failures teach you. Who knows?