Do It Right the First Time

It’s the challenges, missed opportunities and mistakes that create the biggest lessons. The only time it doesn’t serve you is when you fail to pay attention. That alone is a lesson to learn.

Doing it right the first time would mean no mistakes, no regrets and no doubts. But if you didn’t make mistakes, have regrets or deal with doubts then what would you learn?

How can you enhance your chances of doing it right the first time? Here are 3 suggestions on increasing your chance of successfully doing it right the first time.

1. Follow a process. Let your creative thinking flow. Start at the beginning. Identify the problem. Define the various levels of what you are confronted with. For instance, you need to decide which job to take. Which job will enhance your long term desires? Is choosing a job the only decision you have to make? What will either decision lead to?

Establish a plan (and always have a plan B). What are your resources? What are the barriers in your way? Who do you need to involve? Develop scenarios. Pretend to know where each one will lead. What’s real and what’s not? Remember to listen to your gut.

2. Take your time. Jumping in with both feet should only occur when you’ve measured the water. Time is on your side and if it isn’t then prepare ahead of time for that unexpected prospect. Taking your time doesn’t mean wasting time or putting it off indefinitely. It means giving yourself space, entertaining the what-ifs and being thorough.

3. Be disciplined. Self-discipline is a learned attribute. Self-discipline is a form of freedom. Freedom from apathy, demands of others, and weakness. Self-discipline builds your strength and ability to focus. Live the 5 pillars of self-discipline; acceptance, willpower, hard work, industry and persistence.

Doing it right the first time will involve mistakes, screw ups and oversights. Accepting this will happen is the first step in learning the hard lessons from those errors that can make a big difference for your future.

When a child is learning to walk, she falls down many times. She learns how to keep her balance, putting one foot in front of the other. Soon she is running and you will, too.

 

[Simran Rai]

This reflection highlights a valuable truth: mistakes are not failures—they are foundations. Growth rarely comes from perfection. It comes from trial, awareness, and course correction. The wisdom lies in observing what went wrong, owning it, and learning from it. The three steps offered—process, patience, and discipline—form a powerful guide. A process brings structure to decision-making and helps distinguish between surface issues and deeper concerns. Time, when used well, sharpens clarity and reveals hidden variables. And discipline—often underestimated—is what turns insight into action, over and over again. These are not shortcuts, but essentials for resilience and readiness. Most importantly, this reminder that “doing it right” is not about never slipping, but about rising faster, stronger, and more certain, reshapes what success looks like. Just as a child must fall to walk, missteps are part of the rhythm of progress. Clarity, courage, and consistency make all the difference. Mistakes are not what should be feared. What should be feared is refusing to learn from them. With the right mindset and tools, what begins as a fall becomes the stride toward something better.​