Did you ever have one of those days? You know what I’m talking about; one of those days when there are problems that need solving everywhere you turn. Or maybe one of those days when you hear yourself utter “I wish I was…”. Yeah, one of those days. (Ok, how is Pat going to be able to “connect these dots”?)
Take a step back and do a “mental survey” of your surroundings and the people around you. If “all” of the problems seem to land on your desk, why? Is it because they have had their behavior shaped (by you or by prior supervisors) to do-a-quick-handoff to you because you have tolerated their short attention span? (It happens.) My old buddy Al, you know Albert Einstein, he did this mental-self-awareness analysis thing and came away suggesting “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Maybe there’s a lesson there. (Hmm)
And that brings me to the ‘Stress” variable. It’s not a rare thing that those around you deal with stresses from work, from events in their personal lives. Heck, (That wasn’t too extreme was it?) I bet you are not immune to stress. IKR. So, another one of my influencers, a Professor I think, noticed a particularly high-stress level in our class. So, he decided to address it. He created an analogy using a glass of water. He filled it almost full and asked the class how much they thought the glass weighed. Guesses came quickly from 6 oz. to 16 oz. (Ok, it was a long time ago. Deal with it.) He smiled and then told us that it wasn’t the amount of water; but rather how long we held the glass that would become physical stress. The amount of water would be the same for all of us but how long we held onto the glass of water before putting it down, was what we needed to consider. Maybe there’s a lesson here. When we carry a load too long before making better choices, that’s when stress sets in. What other lessons did you see?
And finally, show of hands, ever feel the tedium (look it up) of repetitious work duties. I heard about this person who “got bored” in their job. One day they did one of those make-a-silent-wish things that came true. This person suddenly found themselves in a heaven-like place where they could have anything they wanted, as many times as they wanted and did not have to work. Wow, Cool, Right. Wrong! They got bored and said they wanted to do some kind of work. Guess what. They were told “No”. Work wasn’t allowed. The person said I’ve never been so bored. The “Voice” chuckled a bit and said “Where do you think you are…not heaven; but he—“. Is there a lesson here? Bruce Lee, yep, said, “Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one.”
In closing, we’ve all got Problems and Stresses. The question is What do you ask for?
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