When you make a mistake, how do you treat yourself?  Is it easy for you to move on?  Do you focus on that mistake? Do you let it hold you back and make you more hesitant to take risks? Your answer to this question can depend largely on the relationship you developed with mistakes early on in your life, particularly if you grew up in an environment of scarcity. Think about it. With fewer resources and little to fall back on, mistakes can have more significant consequences. If your family is just getting by, a credit card late fee or overage charge can sink your budget for the month.  As children and young adults, we may not have fully understood those consequences but it’s likely that we did understand the stress it caused the adults in our lives. Childhood experiences with scarcity can create patterns of behavior that have a tendency to crop up later in our own lives. Even when we’ve done a lot of self work, we can still flash back to those patterns of behavior and overcorrect when we make a mistake. This is especially true if times are tough.  At B.O.S.S. Consulting, we work with clients to develop their resiliency, focusing on understanding a key difference: Are you reacting to something or are you thinking it through? There is a big difference between those two responses.  My number one piece of advice to clients is to think, don’t react!  This may sound like an easy buzz word exercise, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Knowing when you’re reacting without thinking (and then making the necessary adjustments) is one of the most difficult tasks you’ll ever approach in your personal and professional life.  But you don’t have to do this work on your own. We walk with our clients as they work through this challenge every step of the way. We can help you understand where some of your business roadblocks originate and how to move beyond them so that you and your business can continue to grow and flourish.  What small business challenges cause you pain? Let us know in the comments below! Terry Doloughty is the Founder of B.O.S.S. Consulting with thirty years of experience in both the for profit and nonprofit sectors. Terry believes that leadership is the most valuable renewable resource. He’s passionate about sharing his skills and life experiences with the next generation of leaders so they can grow their organizations and support their communities. Be the first to read our next post -- sign up for our blog below!

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