The costliest mistake

If I sat across the table from you and asked: what is the costliest mistake you have ever made? What do you think that would be?

I believe you will be thinking of your costliest mistake along the lines of financial losses; you may begin racking your brain to remember what wrong action you took that cost you a lot of money?

We all make mistakes. It’s part of the normal growth process. To be honest, you cannot truly grow without making some mistakes. Some are correctable while some are not.

There is one mistake that we often make without realising it and it’s implication and this is the costliest mistake of all: "putting a limit on yourself".

You are your most valuable asset, so putting a limit on yourself equates to devaluing your most valuable asset.

Bosses, colleagues, family, friends and the society will attempt to put a limit on you by their utterances, advices and actions. There is nothing you can do about that . However, it remains up to you to go along with the narrative or shrug it off and chart your course.

I recall when I arrived in Switzerland and started searching for a job, one of the first recruiters I visited took a look at my CV (my last job was as an Assistant Manager in a prominent bank in Nigeria) and said I didn’t have any experience working in Europe therefore I could only get a job as a Clerk! I left his office feeling insulted and upset. After I got over the initial emotions, determination set in. I was ready to prove a point that I would get a job in my field of expertise in Switzerland. It didn’t come easily, but it did eventually come.

With the fire of determination in my bones, I sent out tons of job applications. Interestingly, I later found out that I had applied three times for the first job I got.

I encourage you; don’t allow anyone, including yourself, set a limit for you. Keep pushing and breaking barriers. We see people (particularly sports persons) whose drive is to break limits and set new records, and we sometimes think they are crazy. In their minds, they are not and they have chosen to ignore naysayers in order to write their names in the record books.

I am great sports follower and I follow the lives stories of some sporting icons. Cristiano Ronaldo (football) and Lewis Hamilton (Formula 1) are two stars in their 30s who have become people of influence with millions of followers on social media through constantly pushing themselves beyond predefined limits.

Not putting a limit on yourself is the first step to a growth-focused life. Take that first step today!