Shortcuts to Wisdom
A friend of mine and I were talking last night and basking in the knowledge that we’re so much smarter now than we ever have been. We know more about life, minor things don’t upset us like they used to and we’re both generally happier and more successful than we were even just a few years ago. If we look back 10 or 20 years, we can both see how much progress we’ve made.
But does it have to take this long? I’d like to think that the answer is no, but for me I have to say “yes”. That’s because looking back I lacked a very important quality that would have launched my life to new heights rapidly - I wasn’t teachable.
Now that’s obviously not true in every area of my life, but in many areas it was. The only way for me to learn about love was through painful relationships that went on too long before I was willing to quit. Looking back, the pain was caused by too much focus on what I expected out of the relationship, rather than what I could contribute to it.
For business ventures and finance, I had to take crazy risks that resulted in huge losses of not only money, but progress toward my goals. The cause was similar - I focused on the result and missed the process. My career was repeatedly derailed by “squirrels”. Hopping from job to job to increase my salary only to find myself with no job for months at a time.
It’s important to note that I don’t view any of these things as failures. The experiences provided valuable lessons for me that shape my life today. What I question is, could I have learned them through someone else’s experience if I was willing to listen?
Part of the answer lies in the Scrum for Your Life principle Know Your Values. I thought I knew mine, but until I sat down and tested them I didn’t really know them, and I made decisions based on a false understanding of them. My goals were results oriented instead of contribution oriented and my plans to achieve changed with the wind.
Scrum for Your Life can shorten your road to wisdom. You just need to follow these key points.
Know your values
Have a vision for your life based on contribution to others
Have a plan and make progress daily
Know that things will change but your direction doesn’t have to.
If you do these things, even if you don’t follow the full Scrum for Your Life process, you will find success and happiness sooner than most. And you’ll find wisdom.