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Have a happy, healthy, and joyful weekend!

Release Date:

2021-10-11 17:39

This Week’s Share--- Never underestimate those seemingly insignificant challenges!

Recently, I made a mistake at work: during the pause in the company’s recruitment process, I forgot to disable the suspension feature.

This client has been a partner for six years. In the past, we always confirmed account activations and suspensions via email and WeChat, and the installment‑payment feature has been operational for quite some time. Even with such extensive experience behind us, I still failed to handle this matter properly. This mistake represents an unprecedented oversight.

Looking back on this collaboration, I realized I had been too overconfident.

Originally, our suspension process was very rigorous: each time we initiated a suspension, we would verify the details with the customer to prevent any misunderstandings. However, trusting me implicitly, the customer failed to explicitly confirm and follow through, while I, confident in my past performance, neglected to double-check the procedure—ultimately bypassing this critical step that could have prevented errors.

I was confident in my abilities—after all, I’d always done things this way, and nothing had ever gone wrong. Yet the problem arose precisely when I was at my most assured. If only I’d been a bit more cautious and handled the backend promptly whenever the client needed to perform an operation, this situation could have been avoided.

Experience can sometimes dull our judgment, leading us to underestimate the difficulty of a task. And when we become blindly overconfident, that is often when things are most likely to go wrong.

I had a male classmate who, shortly after starting work, died young—tragically drowning while swimming in the Yangtze River.

When they heard the news, their old classmates found it hard to accept: “We all grew up by the Yangtze River, and almost every boy was a strong swimmer—so why did such a tragedy still happen?”

A senior once said: “You think that if you can swim, you’ll never get into trouble—that’s a big mistake. After all, people who can’t swim don’t even dare to step into the water; even beginners who’ve just started learning still hesitate to venture into deeper areas.”

Those who think they can swim are, ironically, the most at risk. The very belief that swimming skills will keep them safe is often what leads to trouble.

We often hold a sense of awe toward matters beyond our capabilities, while tending to take for granted those within our reach.

I once heard a boss say that the biggest mistakes in a company are often made by senior employees. Having amassed considerable experience in their respective fields, they tend to become overly confident; at the same time, they wield significant authority, so when they slip up, the consequences are usually severe.

Relatively speaking, newcomers tend to be more cautious; when faced with uncertainty, they double-check or consult their seniors—attitudes that are rarely seen among veteran employees.

The traps along life’s path often lie in the very things we know best; the places where we’re most likely to stumble may well be the smoothest, broadest roads in our eyes.

I once worked with an inspector from a reputable organization, and his workflow left me truly impressed.

While inspecting shoes on the assembly line, he carried a checklist with him. The form had more than fifty blank columns, each listing an inspection item. Even something as minor as the stitch pitch on a shoe was measured with a ruler and recorded.

For most seasoned inspectors, this would be hard to fathom. Because we become so accustomed to what we already master that we simply overlook these minute details. Yet it is precisely these little things that set the standard apart. This inspector possesses no extraordinary skills, yet has maintained a flawless record of ten years with zero errors—leaving his peers far behind.

A meticulous, painstaking attitude is the most formidable strength of all. Never underestimate those seemingly insignificant challenges life throws your way.

Even if we’ve achieved nine successes by relying on past experience, that certainly doesn’t mean the tenth challenge will be effortless. Just like swimming: even with the same physical condition and the same skills, different waters carry different risks.

The same holds true for learning and work: when the environment and the details shift subtly, even our experience can become unreliable. In the face of unknown challenges, maintaining a sense of reverence is what enables us to guard against risk—just as the old saying goes: “Caution ensures safety in the long run.”

Even if you can swim, don’t forget the dangers; and even with experience, stay alert to blind spots. No matter how much you know, remember that there’s still far more we don’t.

If you wish to live up to your lofty aspirations, always cultivate a heart of reverence.

No matter how far we go or how high we rise, we must remain as we were when we first set out.

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