Wished I had coined this phrase and philosophy… didn’t. But it really is part of all of our stories. We may flourish in good situations, decisions but how we handle the bad decisions we make tells a more poignant story and how we go about moving beyond our less thought-out decisions or downright ‘wrong’ ones. When we wake to the reality that we made a bad (ranging from realllllly bad to just ‘bad’) decision, how we handle it and move on does refine us.
There are so many behaviors and thoughts that are counter-productive to resolving our wrong decisions. It really begins with the first step of accepting the consequences and the responsibilities from our bad/wrong decisions. You can’t grow, move on, making the most of what was done until we admit to ourselves and those effected. Why try and weasel out of what we did when everyone knows? It will never work to point fingers or avoid or deny – it’s time to be an adult.
The second step, in my opinion, is to determine how/if to resolve the situation. If there are others involved then you should include them in the resolution process. If others are effected then they need to at least be consulted in what to do to move beyond where you are. And if you are the kind of person that includes others in the initial stages of decision-making, then I believe that their knowledge may prove helpful.
Analysis, assessment sometimes occurs in what seems like a split second, but method may be an effective tool. Sometimes there is salvage opportunities and can assist. Bad decisions may not include throwing the baby out with the bathwater. There are times when you do start from scratch again but if so, then take what you’ve learned and discovered from the ‘bad’ decision so that it isn’t repeated.
The last step in this process is to move on. At this stage, if at no other, you really are visible, because others will know: what happened, how you reacted, what your method to resolve included, and when/how you did accept your responsibility and developed a strategy to move on. This can become a model that others can use when they find themselves in a similar situation. Living in a glass bowl? Of course. We all are – it is unavoidable. But who we are really shines through when we make the most of bad situations. How we model who we are will speak volumes.
