Missing the point

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One of the saddest tragedies in life is to miss the point of anything – perhaps, a lesson learned. Or what could have successfully sealed a contract. A nugget of truth that could’ve been a game changer. A favor that was there for the taking. What your boss really wanted.

What your client was really looking for.

We could go on and on…

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So why in the world do we miss the point?!!

1. We don’t really listen. Maybe we’re distracted. We’re so lost in the details that we miss the big picture. Or we like listening to ourselves more. Like this manager who was so scared he’d forget the numbers and statistics when he was reporting to his boss that he was only half-listening when his boss was giving him crucial instructions that he totally missed. And which, of course, led to an epic fail.

2. We think we know better. Pride goeth before a fall – yup, we’ve heard that all too often.

But did it ever save us from the downfalls caused by our overblown egos? Like when your business partner warns you that the approach you’re taking is guaranteed to fail – but you don’t listen because, well, he’s not at all sophisticated and has very bad grammar. Besides, you graduated from a better school. So, you miss his point. And just like he warned you, your plan failed.

3.We’re stubborn. We like doing things our way. We think it’s our way or the highway. We don’t want to be told what to do. Well, get ready for a life of being booted out, eased out, parachuted out, fired. We completely miss the point that in many things, it takes cooperation to succeed.

4.We are incorrigible, unteachable. We don’t learn from our mistakes. Like a person who keeps getting into debt or shady deals because he thinks that flaunting money will buy him people’s respect. He keeps missing the point. Who respects a person who’s deep in debt?

And who’s known to be corrupt?!!

5. We don’t have objectivity or foresight. We cannot detect the best option when we see it because we fail to see its benefits and advantages – either because we’re too emotional, skeptical, cynical, gullible, or don’t have good, reliable standards. Like when we choose the wrong person to marry. Or choose the wrong neighborhood to live in. Or choose the wrong job offer. Or hire the wrong person.

6. We don’t learn from the mistakes of others. We miss the point of why they failed. And why we shouldn’t do the same thing. Think about three friends who got into extramarital affairs at different times, but which all eventually led to separations – all because they missed the point. They didn’t learn from each other’s disastrous mistakes.

There are probably other inane, insane reasons why we miss the point. But we don’t have to keep missing the point again and again.

We just need to be a lot more mindful, alert, careful, and intentional about things from now on. Never, never think that you always know better or that you know it all.

Don’t miss the point. A little humility always goes a long way. That’s one way we can spare ourselves a lot of pain.

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