Viktor Frankl said, “It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future.”
Perhaps that is why we make plans, set goals, and dream our dreams.
You can increase your progress in the pursuit of your plans, goals or dreams by using one important principle.
Allow me to share with you the problem, the principle, and the application.
The problem is stupid mistakes. The first thing you need to know is that I have a long list of stupid mistakes. I’m not talking about ignorant mistakes. I’m talking about “I should have known better” mistakes.
Let me share three of my stupid mistakes. The first was on my wedding day. Leaving the reception, my wife, who looked absolutely gorgeous in her wedding gown, could not wear her high heels any longer. She took them off and grabbed her dress and we walked to the car. When we climbed into the car, her stalkings were ruined, the bottom of her feet were black, and the look on her face gave me the distinct impression that I should have paid for valet parking. It was a stupid mistake.
My Second stupid mistake came soon thereafter. We were living in an apartment in Long Beach, California. We didn’t quite know if we were making enough money to buy a house, but that didn’t stop me from going to a timeshare presentation and getting us into monthly payments and a monthly service fees. I said it was a good investment. So, now we owned one week at the timeshare and rented the apartment 52 weeks out of the year. That was a stupid mistake.
That was pretty bad but hold my root-beer!
My third stupid mistake happened when the vacuum salesman came by with his fancy vacuum. I couldn’t think of a reason not to buy a $2,000 vacuum, and of course, I would be paying monthly payments. Some of you are saying, “That WAS a stupid mistake.” Some of you are saying, ”Please, tell us that you got professional help.”
What did I have for preventing stupid mistakes? I had the phrase, “Boy, that was a stupid mistake!” Stupid mistakes cost me time, money, (lots of money) and extra work.
The principle to increase my progress in pursuit of my plans, goals, and dreams, came to me years later, when I got a chance to do some work overseas, in Kinshasa of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And while French is the spoken language, there is also Swahili thrown in.
You all know the Swahili phrase, Hakuna Matata, which means what? “No, worries.” I learned another Swahili phrase, “Tika Buzoba.” ay it with me: Tika Buzoba. It means to Stop Doing Stupid Things. Say that with me: Stop doing stupid things.
Tika buzoba was the simple, yet significant phrase that was missing from my life. Why didn’t I think of that? I might have stood a little taller in the eyes of my new bride, we might have been able to buy a home in Long Beach, California, and a reasonably priced vacuum!
We all make mistakes. Some of them are stupid mistakes. Stupid mistakes cost us in time, money, and extra work. Stupid Mistakes can hold us back.
The Application of the principle of Tika Buzoba
Picture yourself driving a car. You have one foot pressing on the accelerator propelling you forward in pursuit of your plan, goal or dream. Your other foot is pressing on the brake of stupid mistakes costing you time, money and extra work. In order to increase your progress toward your plan, goal or dream, is it better to step harder on the accelerator, or is it better to take your other foot off the brake? It turns out that in order to move forward, you just have to get rid of what’s holding you back. Tika Buzoba.
