Mid-twentieth century humorist Sam Levenson once said, “You must learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t possibly live long enough to make them all yourself.” As much as I have tried to follow this advice in my life, there have been many instances where I have challenged Mr. Levenson’s theory. One such instance occurred between my freshman and sophomore years at West Point. During that summer, my classmates and I took part in summer field training at Camp Buckner, New York and Fort Knox, Kentucky. The part that occurred at Fort Knox was called Mounted Maneuver Training, which focused on familiarization with Army vehicles. We rode on buses from Camp Buckner, New York to Fort Knox, Kentucky and shortly after our arrival to Fort Knox, our cadre granted us an eight-hour pass. Before we all scattered across the rolling hills of Kentucky, our cadre gave us two constraints, don’t go to Louisville and don’t consume alcohol. Looking back with a decade’s worth of perfect vision, those two little constraints seem very reasonable and achievable. That was not the case then, and long story short, two friends and I went to Louisville, drank a …show more content…
few beers, and later got caught. Upon returning to Camp Buckner, my culprits and I had a disciplinary board with the Brigade Tactical Officer, and for my part, I received 100 disciplinary hours, which I served seven hours every weekend throughout the entire first semester of my sophomore year. I learned several very valuable lessons from this incident.
The first, which I already knew, but got significant reinforcement, was that there are rules in life, and if you don’t follow the rules, there are repercussions, sometimes very painful and time-consuming repercussions. The second lesson that I learned was that one bad decision has the potential to destroy years of hard work. I had gone from growing up in a single parent mobile home in small town South Dakota to attending one of the most prestigious and historic schools in America, and I almost lost it all on an eight-hour pass. The third lesson that I learned was that as a member of a team, my actions didn’t just affect me, they affected the entire team. I had let my classmates down and it took a significant amount of time to regain their trust and
confidence. The same immaturity that contributed to this incident reflects in my undergraduate academic performance, particularly the first two years. I started finding my groove through my junior and senior years, but for my cumulative grade point average, it was too little too late. I have used these early setbacks as fuel in my quest for excellence throughout my professional career, and I strive to become better every day.
After reading Failure is Not an Option by Nathan Wallace, we ponder whether failure is beneficial or not. However, after reading the passage, we stumble upon a quote where Wallace says “Failure is always an option. Failure can lead to great learning and progress when a specific failure is analyzed through the lens of a growth mindset.”
“I have learned this: it is not what one does that is wrong, but what one becomes of as a consequence of it – Oscar Wilde” (Page before page number one).This quote comes from the book Hole In My Life by Jack Gantos. The main topics involve recovering from mistakes and overcoming setbacks. Everyone should read his book because everyone can take something away from it. Audience, voice, and content are the key points for review.
The next lesson I learned will be particularly useful when I become a manager. That lesson is to make good people want to stay in the company because it betters the company and good people help uphold important ethical standards. Also, in regards to the managerial role, is to reward ethical behavior and punish unethical behavior.
Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices. ~ Alfred A. Montapert.
Another is how you should always have the best interest at heart. Always having your friends in mind and keeping them by your side. The whole story is
Lastly, the final lesson is something I personally have trouble grasping. The denotation in this lesson is to not give up on yourself even when in failure. I occasionally lose patience and become frustrated with myself. I lose faith in everything. I’m close to letting everything go. I’m running on fumes. Hopefully that will
“...For a great many people, the evening is the most enjoyable part of the day. Perhaps, then, there is something to his advice that I should cease looking back so much, that I should adopt a more positive outlook and try to make the best of what remains of my day. After all, what can we ever gain in forever looking back and blaming ourselves if our lives have not turned out quite as we might have wished? The hard reality is, surely, that for the likes of you and I, there is little choice other than to leave our fate, ultimately, in the hands of those great gentlemen at the hub of this world who employ our services. What is the point in worrying oneself too much about what one could or could not have done to control the course one’s life took? Surely it is enough that the likes of you and I at least try to make our small contribution count for something true and worthy. And if some of us are prepared to sacrifice much in life in order to pursue such aspirations, surely that is in itself, whatever the outcome, cause for pride and contentment.” (Ishiguro, 244)
“Men of thoughtless actions are always surprised by consequences.” -Sarah Addison Allen Many times humanity is more concerned if they can accomplish the impossible that they don’t stop to ponder whether or not they should. Every action has an equal or opposite reaction; thus every endeavor demands an outcome whether a good outcome or an unfavorable one.
Life is full of defining moments that can impact a life negatively or positively. The consequences to actions are never known in the beginning but always play out in the end. My life as well as everyone else’s can be summed up to a series of decisions, both good and bad, that effected our lives and the lives around us. My choices in particular have not had life changing or drastic results, however, there is one decision that has seemingly changed my view on the world for the better.
2. I learned the importance of persuasion and how to use it as a coach. That it can also be a bad thing if you use it wrong.
In conclusion, life is filled with lessons. Some of them are learned through reading books, traveling, and watching old Disney films. In contrast, some are learned through mistakes, and hard times. As life goes on we will continue to grow up, find new interests, and meet new people. Along the way we will find things that we enjoy doing, and things we can’t stand. All of these things teach us lessons that make us the human beings we are today. I would never take back any of the things that I have done in the past because those are the building blocks that constructed me into the person I am today. I hope I will look back fifty years later and say, “Yea. It was a good life.”
There are numerous lessons that I have learned from life, they were lessons that I learned from good and bad experiences in life. Different experiences from school and out of school that has made me the way I am today. There is a long list of experiences that in reality did not teach me much.
Many people learn many different life lessons throughout their lives. Whether it’s from reading a book, watching a movie, or living the experience yourself. Many life lessons can be taught to people through several different things. These include, but are not limited to, hard-work, getting a job, playing sports with a team or by yourself, and achieving your goals. I have learned many life lessons through many different things. Three of these life lessons are never give up, it’s not over ‘til it’s over, and that there are two types of pain, physical and regret, and only one fades with time.
...cy that left behind would not be here today. Like a sermon that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “ I want you to be the first in love, I want you to be the first in moral excellence, I want you to be the first in generosity…” What this quote meant to me meant a lot in self-improvement. If you want to change be the first one to change. Don’t wait for someone else but take the initiative, take the action! But here’s the catch! Don’t wait to try to self-improve when you think you’re ready because if you wait to when you think you’re ready, you will never self-improve. This kind of ties up to “When do we need to self-improve?” and “How do we self-improve?” Overall, Self-improving is key in someone’s life. Without it, we wouldn’t be where we were in the past, who we are in the present and who will be become in the future. It is needed in our lives, no doubt about it.
One simple consideration that can change the course of how people think about their approach to life is, the examination of the influences that they have on other people’s lives. An individual could also look outwards and analyze the impact that other people have on that individual’s life. One should also self-reflect and search for how their thoughts and actions craft a pathway towards their own destiny. The statement by Socrates, “the unexamined life is not worth living,” is an interesting statement that requires a considerable amount of analysis.