The difficult part of learning
Learning is hard if it requires us to let go of our own personal truths. Indian philosophy uses the term Avidya. It means the presence of mistaken conclusions about ourselves and the world that we value as knowledge. The only way to learn is to ask ourselves if what we hold valuable continues to be true.
Separating motivation from demotivation
Motivation and demotivation are two separate concepts and not two ends of the same spectrum. Therefore, what motivates an employee may not necessarily be the same as what demotivates them. When people get motivated, they are able to see beyond themselves. Visualizing how one’s work can create a larger impact is a powerful motivator. On the contrary, when employees get demotivated, they get myopic and are concerned only about their interests.
As Peter Drucker famously said, “History has been written not by the most talented but by the most motivated”
Coming out of bad decisions
The sunk cost fallacy is a tendency to spend more time, effort, and money on poor decisions with the hope that they will eventually get a good outcome. Reflecting on past decisions, I realized it was easy to move on from bad decisions under the following circumstances:
If the monetary or emotional cost was low
If the time and effort involved was minimal
If there are other low-cost options readily available
Above all of these, a new decision-maker made it easier to revisit the decision and make a fresh start.