Embarking on a project only to lose purpose or the desired aim just at the middle of the project without even getting a glimpse of what victory there is can be heartbreakingly disappointing. Especially when others are embarking on the same project and you see them coming through gallantly. To even think that is not the first time it is happening to you. Then, you begin to wonder if you are ever going to make it, or you are not just good enough, or you don’t have it in you, or worse your effort is jinxed. Well, it is only safe to say that certain things are to be expected when embarking on something and certain things are also to be put into consideration. Your expectations prepare you for what is to come, both good and the ‘not’ good, and your considerations prepare you for how to go about things. These two put together along with your determination to make it ‘this time’ ensures your big win. This is what I call winning from below. That is to say, your grit and determination to win this time around, no matter what, is the principal key to ensuring your winning. So get up, rid yourself of whatever pessimistic thought you have left and prepare yourself for your big win which has already started.
The first step you have to take towards claiming your already anticipated big win is retracing your steps. It is a popular belief that when things don’t go as expected, something which shouldn’t have been done have been done or something which should have been done have not been done. This is quite true. And that is why you have to retrace your step. To know that which you have done wrong and that which you have not done at all. Take into account every single detail of how you went about things, to the minutest detail. Dig it all out, from where you started to where it crashed. And while doing this, try not to miss out on that particular point where it all came crashing, it might not be one. Also especially, try to note the things you did, which triggered the crash, or the things you failed to do. While you are at this, don’t fail to also find out the things you did or the things you were careful enough not to do which earned you big points. This leads to the second step of your big win which is learning from your mistakes.
Someone said ‘mistakes are the portals of discoveries’. This is a statement I so much believe in. Come to think of it, when you make a mistake you, you learn never to do again that which led to the mistake, and you also know what will happen again should you do that which led to the mistake. This helps you not to make the same mistake again and also leads you to try something new, which might get to be your new discovery.
The third important step you need to take is gathering people’s experiences including their mistakes, and learning from them. One of the common quotes thrown around is ‘experience is the best teacher’. That been said, you can’t possibly have all the experiences of this world. Some people have been in that particular journey long before you. Go in search of them through any means –thank God for the social media now-, ask questions and questions and more questions. How they did it, where they went wrong, what they did when they went wrong and so on. Don’t rely on just one person, no one is an island of knowledge, plus, everyone cannot have the same experiences. So that is why you have to meet more than one person. Gather everything from them and learn. This will not only save you from making the same mistakes they made, but will also prepare you for what is to come. So it doesn’t catch you unaware and take you right back to where you started.
Finally, gather all you have learnt and make your plan. Don’t be in a haste to rush back into it. Sit back, take a deep breath and ruminate on all what you have learnt. Do all these with the believe that you are going in for the win this time and nothing is stopping you. Don’t forget, winning is not actually when you’ve gotten it, it starts right from your determination to win it, through to when you eventually get to the finishing line.