Why it's Important to Kick "The Ostrich Habit" and the Dangers of Not Tracking Your CPA Exam Progress
January 05, 2015
"If you’re not tracking your progress, then you’re likely suffering from 'The Ostrich Problem', a phenomenon described by psychologists in England as the widespread tendency for people to avoid information about progress towards their goals. After all, it feels good to keep moving, and who wants the frustration of discovering that they've actually been driving in the wrong direction?" (via Dr. Christian Jarrett)
Here are the takeaways:
#1 It is often those of us who most need to keep checks on our progress who are the least likely to do so.
#2 Avoidance of progress feedback is often motivated by fear – fear that we will be confirming what we suspect: things aren’t going well.
#3 The temporary pain of negative feedback is nothing compared with the crushing experience of project failure.
#4 Struggles and set backs aren’t an abnormality, they are to be expected and are part of the process.
Luckily most of us "numbers people" enjoy tracking figures and stats, so at least we have that going for us. But there are still plenty of ways to keep our heads buried in the sand. What are your progress tracking missteps and how do you make sure you are on target with your CPA Exam goals? What do you do about tracking your progress with those pesky problem areas?
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