natural glow

So today, my random musing of the day was how frustrated I was with myself for having let my hands turn orange due to the inappropriate application of tanning moisturizer.  That's as deep as it got.  Then my mind started to wander to whether or not I could compose an entire blog post on my moisturizer mess up.  Stay with me now...


So I took the situation and broke it down into its simplest form, why was I frustrated?  Because I had created an unnecessary problem for myself by choosing to ignore a painfully simply activity that I knew would have a larger positive impact in the future.  I literally made a problem for myself by consciously not taking action that I easily could have.  Yeah, sure, I just have orange hands this time, but how often had I done this in the past in much more serious situations with more serious implications?


Too many.


Procrastination on assignments and studying in school, missed networking in my professional career, not making effort in my personal relationships.  I wouldn't call the list endless, but I wasn't having any trouble finding examples of times where a simple action in the beginning would have made my life worlds better later.  But what really got me?  Is that I kept doing it; why was I not learning my lesson?  Why are my hands orange?


In the moment, we make the best decision we can with the facts and resources available; not always an optimal decision making environment, byt that doesn't change the fact that we need to make the decision.  And we make that decision, we must live with the consequences (don't hate me for using that phrase, I'm already hating myself enough, but- ughh- it's true.). However, we have the benefit of hindsight (it's 20/20 don't you know) and I need to take better advantage of it.  


We might not always make the right decision in the moment, but if we take the time to analyze our decision making based on the results, the ease/difficulty of getting there, the pain/pleasure caused, we learn.  We learn how we operate and how effective we are.  And when we do this, we become more successful in the future.  Insightful, right?  Totally, but remember, I'm still orange.  It takes time, and lots of experiences, and a little reminder that we should be seeking out these learning experiences and being our own teachers.


Bet that's the last time you doubt my ability to make something out of nothing. ;)