Making Good Choices: Problems vs. Circumstances (Ep. 52)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM33vFc8A9E&feature=youtu.be Happy Wednesday.  First - I want to thank everyone for the lovely notes and conversations over the past few weeks generated from the last two podcasts. They seem to have resonated with a lot of people, which is great. What I found in many of the conversations I had with people is that we all have different ways of looking at challenges. With that in mind, my focus on this week’s podcast is on problems vs. circumstances. We all hear that we should just “focus on what we can control” and everything will be fine. It’s a positive psychology-type of mentality that is helpful for some - but to just leave it at that leaves a lot out. We assume we know what we can control.  When I think about challenges, I put them into two buckets: problems and circumstances. Problems I can solve, circumstances I respond to. 99% of my (and your) challenges are from circumstances. Coronavirus is a circumstance. Having asthma is a circumstance. Job loss is a circumstance.  All three of those are facts and things to deal with. The reason they are circumstances is because you cannot stop whatever it is - you can only make choices based on how it hits you. If you lose your job, you have a number of choices to make as to your next step in how you respond. Same with isolation and corona, same with asthma. You have choices as to what your best next steps will be. The reason I like to bucket challenges this way is because it gives me guidelines for accountability and focus. If 99% of my challenges are circumstantial, then I am accountable for making good decisions. And that’s where it ends. If someone else has a problem, it’s not mine. I leave it alone (unless they ask for my help, of course). If it sounds simple, it’s because it generally is. However, it’s not easy. Oftentimes, the decisions we have to make will require us to sacrifice something in order to get it. That’s part of your decision making process. What are you willing to give up to get what you want?  The question for this week is whether or not you are where you want to be or thought you’d be, whether you are 30, 50, 70. If the answer is no, then it’s time to start thinking about what you would like to change. We have plenty of time to think right now, and good thinking generally leads to good decision making.  So happy thinking, enjoy the week and I look forward to seeing everyone soon!