However, the biggest learning (that I was late to realise) was to NOT embrace these and use errors as a set of ground rules of things to AVOID.
It took me all these attempts in arenas that clearly weren't suitable for me to realise what I shouldn't look for.
I also found those jobs that were the most stressful taught me the most, in hindsight.
Not just to deal with pressure but for me how to NOT do things, how NOT to be managed and who NOT to work with or for.
So, when I walked into a room for a group role play for a job in field sales where the key thing they were looking for was leadership over and above that 'rough, tough' sales edge that
my past ex-employers were looking for (and I didn't have!), everything fell into place.
It didn't feel to me like the other jobs....and I felt I had space to breathe.
12 years later,
alongside the PT business I'm still in field sales and have worked for, and with, some of the biggest retail companies on the planet and feel completely at home.
This also was useful in both my own fitness, AND coaching my clients.
- Ask 30 people that have had fitness success and you will 30 differing sets of
rules, ideas and systems...totally confusing!
- Ask the same 30 people what mistakes they have made along the way and what behaviours they had to STOP doing and you WILL see an overlap
- You will see more patterns and get clearer direction looking at the mistakes those that have gone before us. From here you can see what they also did to correct them..
This is a really important point I try to bring up really early in a new clients relationship with our business.
- What didn't work for you?
- What could you stop doing?
- What mistakes have you come back from and how?
The lack of focus on failures and what course corrections could be done to change behaviours and actions could be called a success bias..it is common in the fitness industry.
'Follow our way, our system, our one size fits all as it worked for me so
surely it must work for you (and if it doesn't then you didn't do it right)'
