You made a plan and followed it. Or at least tried to. But you didn’t get the result you wanted. So, what now?

Go back to the plan. Reevaluate it. Break it apart. Look at each step in isolation. Look at it as a whole. What new information did you gather while following the plan? What assumptions did you make that turned out to be false? Where did you have difficulties following it?

Only once you’ve reevaluated the plan can you decide if the plan can be saved. Should you scrap the plan? Should you rerun the plan as is? Or, can you adjust the plan to make it work?

There’s a lot to be learned from failure. So learn.

Every day won’t go as planned. There are days when plans must be abandoned and a crisis dealt with.

But not all crises are real. You must learn to tell the difference between what is real and what is perceived. The real must be dealt with. The perceived crisis should be ignored or it will only steal your time and attention from the work you’re doing.

Sometimes you can help someone else. And sometimes that’s more important than continuing what you’re doing right now.

Drop what you’re doing, give help, then start again.

Ask questions. Wonder about the world. Figure things out. Don’t accept problems, fix them. Answer your own questions. Answer other people’s questions. Be curious. Investigate. Experiment.

You’re pursuing a goal. Are you ready to achieve it? Have you prepared enough?

If you met someone who could give you an opportunity that would bring you closer to your goal, would you be able to show them you’re ready?

Much of achieving a goal is analysing the potential paths to it and then making sure we have the skills to walk those paths. That could any number of things. It might simply be making sure you are trained to use the right equipment or software. It may be realising that you have a better chance of achieving a goal by moving abroad. To France for example. So you learn to speak French to enable you to take that particular path.

What potential paths can you take?

Be ready.

Did you push the button too fast? Did you push it before you should have? Should you have waited a little longer?

Doesn’t matter. It’s done now.

Start again. There’s always version two.

There’s a spot between ignorance and knowledge. It’s called learning. It’s the most interesting place to be.

Sometimes you have to scrap everything you’ve done and start again. It feels like a waste. But it’s not. It’s an investment. You learned a lot, even if it’s just what not to do, or how not to do something.

Start again if you have to but what you’ve already done was not a waste.

Don’t be afraid to try new things, to learn new tricks.

What you know is not all there is. What you know is not always the best way.

You must keep learning. You must remain open to new knowledge.

Learning is living.