Recently I was involved in a walk for a charitable cause. Not only did I walk, but I also volunteered to help with the event. Overall, it seems to have gone well, but there were a few items that need to be addressed if we decide to do it at the same place next year. As I was volunteering and walking, I was making a mental note of “lessons learned”, and then later on that day I wrote them down so I could remember them for future discussions. “Lessons learned” seems to be something I hear about a lot these days, and I think it can be helpful for improving and growing in many areas.
To me, lessons learned are those things that didn’t go well or didn’t go as well as you had anticipated. Perhaps they are even things that you failed to plan for ahead of time. However you define it, I like the idea of lessons learned. We don’t call them mistakes. We don’t call them failures. We look at them as ways to improve and do better the next time. My initial example is related to the walk I helped with, but lessons learned can be applied anywhere. Starting a new eating plan? Starting a new exercise routine? Starting anything new? Tweaking or changing an existing routine? All of these things, plus many more can include lessons learned.
And, while lessons learned is important to identify what might need changes, another piece is that you have to actually do something about it. It is not enough to simply identify what didn’t go so well, but the key step is deciding what you are going to do about it. So, the next time you are looking at an event or routine of yours, think about what could be better. Then, decide what you can do to make that happen. Lessons learned can be a great way to work on incremental improvement.