Short-term memory

Unfortunately in the world of business and especially startups, you’re going to get punched in the face a lot.

It happened quite a bit at my last job. It happened with every side business/hustle that I’ve started to date. And it’s happening more than ever at Secfi right now.

Truth is that it really sucks when it happens whatever the situation. It could be a deal you thought was closed gone wrong. Perhaps a vendor that guaranteed something fell through. Maybe an employee that you trusted decided to go elsewhere or you didn’t get that promotion that you were promised.

Whatever the circumstance or who’s fault, I’ve learned that life has a funny way of finding new ways to punch you in the face.

Unfortunately I’ve realized that in life there’s not that much you can do about this. Outside factors will always apply no matter how much you wish or pray that it didn’t. The only thing that you can control is how you react to getting punched.

It’s easy to get caught up in these situations and let it dwell. This only leads to a bad situation getting worse as it affects other areas of your life.

This is why short-term memory and a great mental model is possibly one of the most important aspects of success. You can’t control what happens but you can control your reaction. Whenever something shitty happens to me at work, I try to remind myself to have short-term memory.

It’s okay to be upset for a short time period. We’re all human. But when time comes to move on, it’s best to put that last situation in the rear view and focus on the new task at hand.