I was listening to a
speaker some time ago talking about a
trying time in his life.
If you
can relate to bills piling up,
collection calls, struggling to make
things happen and only disappointment
was occurring.
He went
on to relate an incident where the
sheriff came to the door with papers to
collect a debt. With no money the
sheriff went away empty handed.
The
speaker went on to describe his feeling
of dread and failure over the incident,
and then something occurred to him that
changed his view, his thinking and his
future!
That
something put him in a different frame
of mind and
provided a different view of his
situation. I wonder if this
might not work for you….
You see
he had always looked at his situation
as solely his problem. It was being
driven by how he thought others would
perceive and think of him. This created
a very negative picture of himself and
always seemed out of his
control!
So what
did he do that changed his view?
He
continued his talk saying; “I began to
realize that the sheriff had the
problem! He had the job of trying to
collect something that did not exist!
Namely my money!”
With this
different view the speaker indicated
his view and perception of his
situation changed dramatically! He then
indicates his realization that the real
problem was who was being allowed to
control and direct him.
It was
not him!
His
core issue
was not a lack of funds or bill
collectors; it was what he was
allowing these issues to do with
his thinking. They were causing
the worry, the stress and the
negativity while he allowed
it!
Yes he
was concerned about his reputation, his
credit and how business partners would
view his situation, yet he realized
that they were not going to change it
for him. He had to find a way to change
his thinking, his perception and
attitude.
By
viewing the situations differently,
(i.e. It’s the sheriffs problem not
his) he found his mind free to problem
solve and focus on the real issues he
could control to change his
situation.
He then
explained that with this new view and
attitude his focus changed, it seemed a
great weight was lifted. Because of
this he created a new strategy and
within six months was out of debt and
into a six figure income!
I
am sure many of you will question if
not fully disagree with the idea “It’s
the sheriffs problem.” I reacted as
well. But the point here is
this…..
When we
are under pressure, stress and
worry our
mind and creativity are shut
off. We can expend a great deal
of energy yet get
nowhere.
The point
is we need a strategy that helps us see
the situation differently so our mind
and creativity can work!
Albert
Einstein would
regularly take a very different
if not completely off track
approach to a problem. With this
new and very different view
there often came a new
revelation and new solution! I
wonder if that had anything to
do with his well known place in
history.
In his
book “How to Stop Worrying and Start
Living” Dale
Carnegie gave many
principles on how to deal with
worry and stress. All of them
caused you to view the situation
differently.
So you
have issues at work, at home and in
your personal life. You find your
stress level way up, your energy down
and the attitude in the toilet.
Stop and do this:
(on
paper would be recommended)
-
Determine exactly
what it is you are worried
about?
-
What
is the outcome you are concerned
about?
-
Is
this caused by you or by what other
sources want or expect?
-
What
is in your control? Not in your
control?
-
How
can you “reframe” the situation to
create a different
view?
-
With
this new view create a new strategy
and get to work!
I have
used this approach many times over the
years and it works!
More than
once a business venture or personally
the cash flow was getting bloody! As
long as I focused on the cash flow
issue there were only more problems.
Once I changed my view, solutions were
found and the crisis was over very
quickly! I also found myself sleeping
again!
In my
coaching work it is amazing how often
clients “problems” were really their
concern over how others were going to
view or think of them! Once we sorted
this out and looked at the situation
through new eyes, solutions became very
obvious!
If it
works for others, why not you??
Till next week, Be an optimist,
they live longer!
Harlan Goerger
