Progress

"Nana Korobi Yaoki." – Zen proverb

There will always be times in our life when we have to face the reality that we have made a mistake. It's certainly pleasant to feel we have done our work well, and icing on the cake to be recognized for our efforts. But it is important to appreciate that, in order to progress, it is necessary to do things we have never done before – or to do things we may have done before in entirely novel ways. It is also important to appreciate that no one is perfect. Despite careful planning and hard work, mistakes will happen.

This is the essence of humility. Humility is not the ability to make disingenuous statements about how flawed we are. It is also not a quality mastered by insecure people who never fail to point out their inadequacies. Humility is simply seeing things exactly as they are: no better and no worse. A person might say, "I am an excellent project manager." Or "I am a skilled computer programmer." Or "I am in great physical shape." And that person might not be conceited. If the statement is factual, then saying the opposite in order not to appear big-headed would actually not be humble. Thinking that you are less accomplished than you actually are is just as much an expression of ego as thinking you are more fabulous than you actually are.

It is useful to contemplate that of all human qualities, humility is actually the most important one. We can do without many others for a while. But in the absence of humility, all evolution ceases. In other words, if you believe you have achieved everything there is to achieve perfectly, then there's nothing left to strive for, and no other individual from whom you might be able to learn.

So if we are interested in progress of any kind – spiritual, personal or professional – then we must cultivate the quality of humility. One of the most reliable disciplines for developing humility, as well as one of the most effective means for achieving positive transformation, is self-examination. In business, we effect transformation by going through "lessons learned" exercises, either alone, or formally, with our project team. In this case, the entire project team practices self-examination.

We ask:
Did we have the outcome we hoped for?
What could we have done better?
What did we do right?
What can we do better next time?

These questions are as effective for the business professional or project team as they are for the spiritual seeker. The professional might explore "lessons learned" after each meeting and presentation, as well as at the conclusion of major projects. The seeker might ask these questions daily in a disciplined study, or at key crossroads in his path.

What is utterly useless is to enter into self-examination hoping to find perfection, and then to either gloss over errors or to become despondent when they come to light.

If we truly hope to change, to grow, to evolve, then we will take a deep breath, shine an enormous spotlight on our lives and our work, pull out a magnifying glass and a red pen, and take notes. We then acknowledge all the ways we could have done better, been better, as well as all the ways we did well. We must consider both sides objectively, resisting the temptation to be overly pleased with ourselves for our triumphs, and overly miserable and embarrassed about our mistakes.

Most of all, we must take responsibility for the outcome of our efforts. If we erred, we take responsibility for that. We don't sit around and think of who we can blame, of who is at fault for our failings. At the same time, we make sure to give credit – either formally, or at least in our hearts – to those who have contributed to our successes.

Imagine the balance that could be achieved by not allowing our moods to swing up and down according to our successes and failures, but rather considering both as aspects of progress, learning from both, and then moving on to the next challenge. Imagine the lasting joy of not attributing progress to perfection, but rather to transformation and improvement. Imagine the integrity that would come from taking responsibility for our actions, and giving credit where it is due.

We are thrilled to watch an Olympic figure skater perform a perfect double axel in competition. But in her private practices on the ice, does the skater only do double axels again and again? Of course not. Then there would be no progress. When she's not competing, you can bet she's practicing triple axels from morning to night, and falling on her ass about 20 times a day. She isn't despondent, moping and feeling hopeless and embarrassed because she fell 20 times trying to pull off an incredibly difficult maneuver. Instead, she's thrilled, because one day, she may be able to do a triple axel in competition.

A famous Zen proverb, often attributed to Bodhidharma, is "Nana Korobi Yaoki," or, "Fall down seven times, get up eight."

Success in life is not measured against how many times you have fallen, made mistakes or failed spectacularly. It is appraised by how many times you got back up, learned from your mistakes and carried on.

Truly great men and women have very sore asses. But they're still standing. And it is that quality, together with their achievements, that makes them great.

Nicole Grace
July 2007

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new." – Albert Einstein