Dr. Wayne Dyer tells a story that I've always found fascinating. It goes something like this:

One day, a man was walking down a street when he fell into a deep hole in the sidewalk. For the longest time, he laid there bemoaning his fate and crying out for help. Eventually, when no help arrived, he climbed out of the hole and went on his way.

The very next day, the same man was walking down the street and fell into the same hole. He thought, "I can't believe this happened to me again." Once again, he laid there for a while but more quickly realizing that help was not on the way, he climbed out of the hole and went on his way.

The very next day, he comes walking down the same street. And guess what? He falls into the same hole. However, this time, he quickly climbed out of the hole and went about his business.

The very next day, the man comes walking down the same street. However, this time, he sidestepped the hole. Finally, on the fifth day, the man walked down a different street.

One reason that I find this story so fascinating is because I believe it accurately describes the process that most of us go through in learning from our mistakes; at least, if we're smart about it. We make a mistake that leaves us in a hole - whether it be financial or relational - and we wallow in our misery for a time. "Why me?," we ask. Eventually, we climb out of the hole, only to find ourselves back in the same hole again. However, this time, we more quickly climb out of the hole (probably because we've had some practice at it by now). After getting ourselves out of these jams a few times, we may finally learn to sidestep the whole altogether. And if we're really smart, we learn to stay off that "street" altogether.

Be a Fast Learner (Part II)

All in all, this isn't a bad way to learn life's lessons. The only problem is that this process can take years to walk out in real life. While the man in our story learned his lesson in just five days, it could take us five months, Thirteen years or five decades to learn our lessons in this fashion. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't have that kind of time.

Fortunately, I believe that there is a way to shortcut this learning process by skipping to the final stage - walking down a different street after the first sign of trouble. For example, the first time you find yourself in a financial hole because you've failed to budget adequately; it's time to walk down a different street by finding a financial advisor or using direct deposit to place some of your money in an inaccessible savings account. Likewise, the first time you find yourself in relationship trouble because of, say, differing political opinions; it's time to walk down a different street by making politics a taboo discussion in your relationship.

Life is simply too short to get into the same traps repeatedly. Sure, you can climb out of them and eventually, learn to sidestep them. But wouldn't it be better to learn to just avoid them altogether? In fact, if you train yourself to be observant, you can avoid ever stepping into the trap in the first place, just by watching those ahead of you.

Think about it. None of us ever experiences a "new" problem. Every dilemma we face has been faced by someone who has fallen into the trap before us. Why not learn from their experience? Instead of waiting until you're 60 pounds overweight just like Mom and Dad or losing out on a great son in law like Uncle Wally or Aunt Sharon, walk down a different street (literally). Or, instead of ending up like the guy on the job who has reached retirement age but can't afford to quit, take your money on a walk down a different street today (on Wall Street).

It's like we're always telling out kids: "Finish your homework early so you can have the rest of the day to play." Well, the same thing is true for us as adults. The faster we learn our lessons, the more time we will have to enjoy life.