Trust ProGrowth Bank Blog

Save the Worst for First

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Have you ever tried to learn something new...and become a bit frustrated with the learning experience?  If so, this blog is right for you.

I am embarking on a journey to learn and share experiences with people, so that we can avoid repeating past mistakes in the future.  In this way, we can have more fun making entirely new mistakes.

Academic researchers and B-School professors will characterize the learning from experience as a "Learning Curve" or an "Experience Curve".  You can read a bit of the basics about each of these curves by going to Wikipedia, and clicking on

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_curve

for information about Learning Curves and clicking on

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experience_curve

for related information about Experience Curves.

I take a more basic approach, remembering a lesson from my father.  Dad was a minister who was well-educated, yet gave sermons so that someone with a 6th-8th grade education could understand the theology of his sermon.  He would lead into his sermon by giving a Children's Sermon.  Designed for youth, but also heard by adults, Dad would tell a story from his childhood, then conclude with the memorable phrase, "This, to me, is a parable of life."  Here is one such story/parable.

Dad grew up in India during the 1930s and 1940s.  One of his first memories was that he would only eat one food at a time.  Preferring to save the best food for last, so he could leave the meal with a great taste in his mouth, he always chose to "eat the worst first."

A good idea, yes?  Not always.

One evening, his family was visiting another Indian family and he quickly ate the worst thing first.  However, the unexpected happened.  The hostess and cook saw how quickly Dad ate this part of his meal and immediately heaped a huge spoon of the same food on his plate, saying, "Oh, you must really like this."

Needless to say, Dad had the worst thing first...and second...  He rapidly moved through the "experience/learning curve", knowing that he had to stop eating one food at a time, so he could also enjoy the things he liked eating.

This, to me, is a parable that applies to decisions we make today in our personal, professional, and business lives.  All too often, we tend to do things we like...saving the worst for last.  The end result is that some things that we do not like to do are actually necessary and vital to our success...but they remain incomplete.

We should choose to do those things first, or at least second, so that what needs to be completed...gets completed.

We may not like or enjoy doing some things...like paying bills, avoiding too many sweets, spending money foolishly, giving in to impulse buying, living from paycheck to paycheck.  We may think we can avoid the pain, but we are only delaying and intensifying the harsh reality of doing the right things.

The experience of learning new behaviors can be painful; it will take time; and it assuredly will be frustrating.  But the benefit is that by "eating the worst first", we can end our day, our career, and our life, saving the best for last.

Monty's Message:  The best worst...is the first worst.