I learn more from my wipeouts than I do from my best rides. –Laird Hamilton, Champion Big Wave Surfer
A young, local high school quarterback had a terrific season for his team last Fall. Under his leadership, the team battled through adversity and won their conference in dramatic fashion. At the end-of-year-banquet, the team had a chance to review the season highlight reel, and it delighted the players, coaches and parents. Why not celebrate? Glory Days are here again! But a few months later, the young quarterback met with his position coach. And the two of them reviewed a far different type of film: The young player’s LOWLIGHT reel. The horror!
They spent several agonizing hours breaking down sloppy footwork, missed assignments and blown opportunities. It was understandably difficult for the young quarterback to weather the storm. He had to swallow his pride. He had to relive moments he tried to forget. And he had to admit that he still had a lot to learn. As they say, the film don’t lie! But at the end of the session, the young player understood what he needed to improve upon. He understood that every miscue was a teaching moment. And he understood that good players make mistakes. But the best ones leverage those mistakes to achieve greatness.
And couldn’t we all benefit from reviewing the lowlight reels of our everyday lives?
Lowlights Leads to Highlights
As salespeople, it can be tempting to quickly put a client loss in the rearview mirror. But, as painful as it is, there is so much we learn from the loss that will help us with the next sale. What could we have done better or different? Who else could we have involved in the process? As entrepreneurs, when our company crashes and burns, we want to quickly move on to the next big thing. But we need to take a breath. Why did the market dry up? What additional investors could have buoyed our ship? As managers, it is natural to look forward to a new opportunity when we lose the confidence of our team. But reflection is important. What signs did we miss along the way? What conversations could have been handled with more tact? It is neither easy or natural to review the steps that led us astray. But our lowlight reel often holds the key to unlocking our highlight reel!
And the same is true in our personal lives. It is hard to repair a relationship without internal reflection and acceptance of culpability. It is hard make better decisions in the future unless we examine the reasons that led to the initial string of poor decisions in the past. It is hard to be a better parent unless we recognize that sometimes we can be as stubborn as our children. To some extent, we all have to swallow our pride, look in the mirror, and painstakingly review our lowlight films. Recognizing the need for improvement is one of the keys to leading a resilient life!
We Can’t Put Blinders On
But internal reflection and accountability is different from rumination. We can’t beat ourselves up for our past mistakes. We can’t let our past dictate our present or future. At some point, reliving our ultimate Butt Fumble lowlight reel on an endless loop leads to paralysis and loss of confidence. What’s done is done! We have to review our mistakes with an eye toward getting better in the future. We have to leverage our reflection as a tool for continuous improvement. Our lowlight reel does not define us. But it can make us better!
It will not be easy. We will try to gloss over our mistakes and put blinders on. We will refuse to acknowledge our missteps and plow forward. It is never pleasant to break down and analyze our poor decisions. But at some point, we have to face reality. We are not going to get better by burying our heads in the sand. The path to greatness is uncomfortable. And it starts with an honest assessment of where we need to improve.
There is nothing wrong with reviewing our highlight reel. Quite the opposite! We should be proud of ourselves and our team when we execute perfectly. Those moments should be celebrated with family and close friends. But remember that the seeds of those great moments were sown in the poor decisions and sloppy execution of the past. We are all building toward something great. And our lowlight reel might just hold the key to getting us there.