Perspective: It’s Not as Bad as You Think

Are you facing some challenges that seem insurmountable? Have you struggled with reaching some specific goals or ambitions this year?

I had lunch with a client last week where we discussed some of the challenges he was facing. It began by discussing some challenging customer demands, followed by increasingly erratic and unpredictable swings in revenue, followed by some senior management challenges that were now moving towards likely termination. Add this to the everyday stresses of owning and managing a $100 million dollar business and needless to say there had been a few sleepless nights recently.

After we discussed these challenges I shared with him some recent experiences that I thought might help to help put things into perspective as they had for me.

First, a longtime friend had recently had a new baby and returning to the hospital to pay a visit reminded me of when my wife gave birth to our two boys. For the days and even weeks that followed…time stood still.

A few days following this trip my wife and I took our boys to a local museum where we were reminded of our good fortune after reading what seemed like an endless list of names of those who had lost their lives in the war.

With these experiences in mind I offered my client some considerations for him to reflect upon, namely:

1. Always be clear on your “why.” It’s through our purpose that we find energy, motivation and drive.

2. Retain perspective. Unless you are facing a life or death situation, it’s really not all that bad.

3. That which doesn’t kill you… Life is growth and it’s through challenge that we grow and expand our horizons.

As you spend time this summer with family and friends, take time to reflect upon your progress not only this year, but in life. Creating a broad perspective will often bring about the realization that those things we perceive to be challenges are not as challenging as we might think.

© Shawn Casemore 2015. All rights reserved.