Life is 10% what happens to you
and 90% how you react to it.
Charles R. Swindoll
I’m sure you’ve read this quote before. Probably had someone say it to you as well. But when you step back and look at it, it’s so true. A lot of stuff can happen to us, but it’s how we react to it that will set us up for the future.
In my post earlier this week, Claire took the leap to Wedding Planner after having a break from working in trading energy. While waiting for a work visa to become available, Claire had a lot of down time to think about whether she wanted to continue in that field. During this time, she got married in Central Park, which led to her next career. Claire had a choice in how she reacted to not being able to get that work visa. She could have been mad about it and made decisions that were not the best. Instead, she used that time to think about her career and whether she wanted to stay in that field. Then her own wedding opened up a door that she hadn’t previously thought of.
For Margaretha, starting to lose her sight meant she could no longer be an MD. That’s a big upset in life and she could have been down on herself. Instead, she thought about what else she could do that still involved the medical field. And in doing so, she was able to find her new career in the south of France.
How do you react when you make a mistake or are late with a project? Do you take accountability for it or make excuses? If you are a Leader or a Parent, what are your employees or children learning from your example?
That quote is totally accurate in my experience. It ties in with the content of a course I went on yesterday about how to cope with being a carer for elderly parents. We looked at the cycle of stress and how we react to situations. No one controls our thoughts and consequential reactions but us.
So true. We’re in that same spot with my Mother. Sometimes, when she’s pushing “buttons” really hard, I have to remind myself that it must be scary to be 98 years old and blind.
I’ve started to realize that 90% of the hardships or setbacks in my life are my own making, and my dissatisfaction with the remaining 10% are because of my reactions to the things I can’t control. Both need a kick in the ass and an overhaul.
Not so much a kick in the ass, but a gentle redirection. A kick in the ass implies you were being bad, but you weren’t. You just weren’t taking a deep enough breath first to pause before you act.