Whatever you do, remember that you are not alone – in most cases somebody else attempted to do the same thing before. When there is precedence, then it does not make sense for you to start the whole thing at the beginning. If you are facing obstacles and problems in doing it, realize that others have also had to deal with the same issues. You are not being confronted with a new challenge, so there must be a way round it – a solution for it that has been figured out by somebody who attempted this task before you.
Take time to read up about the problems
So instead of breaking your head about how to tackle your particular problems, take time to read up about it, about similar things, about the difficulties faced by others in similar situations. Network and talk to people about what you are trying to do – you never know who may be able to offer advice or help.
When you read, when you talk and listen to others, you understand how and where they may have gone wrong, you get to know what steps they have taken to correct the situation. And you can then use their experience to deal with your situation – you may have to modify their solution to fit your case but it is a lot better than doing it from scratch.
Take advantage of the experience of others
You don’t have to struggle unnecessarily battling challenges that have been solved previously. Take advantage of the experience of others, so that you can spend your time on … something else. Something more challenging. Something more complex. Something more fun.
When you try to reinvent the wheel, very often you ignore the most logical or the simplest solution and end up with something complex and complicated. Every problem does not need a new remedy. If there is a viable way out already, then there is no shame in adopting it for your use too. You can build upon it, improve it but the basic framework will remain the same and be just as effective. For example, you don’t need to build your software from scratch when there are numerous cloud applications available.
Learn from successes and failures of others
Don’t let false ego get in the way of your adopting a solution that has been proved to be successful. You can learn a lot from the successes and also the failures of others. Utilize this learning – don’t dismiss it. It will save you time, effort and energy. Whether in personal life or in the workplace, it is okay to adopt and adapt techniques, practices, systems to your experience. There is no advantage to doing something that has already been done before.
By using other people’s experiences you accelerate your progress. This is how discoveries and innovations happen – people start with the existing body of knowledge and proceed from there. When you ignore proven cause and effect scenarios experienced by others you only end up wasting your time. Acquire an edge by learning from what others have already been through. Whatever your goals may be, those who have travelled your path before can impart a lot of advice and help to you. Take that help.
