Challenging times seem to bring out either the very best in people, or the very worst. Certainly we have been in some very challenging times recently. It's all there if you look around and you don't have to look hard...and probably not too far either. My guess is we have all been negatively impacted in some way by some event or situation which hit very close to home: disasters, wars, terrorism, job loss, divorce, loss of a home, loss of a loved one, etc.....the list is endless.
What we do with what we are dealt makes a difference. I have seen it in business dealings, as well as personally. I visit various newspaper websites to keep up on the news of the day. I also visit certain industry websites and get regular email blasts regarding happenings in my industry. I try to keep abreast of the latest news and trends, just as I'm sure most of you do for whatever-it-is-that-you-do. There is more about bankruptcies, consolidations, and closings than profits, growth, and openings. That can be expected in economic downturns and I'm not surprised.
What DOES surprise me is the vitriol and anger being spewed by readers of the news, whether on newspaper websites or industry related sites. It doesn't matter what the article is. If you read comments by readers you will be amazed to see the different kinds of thinking there is out there. And basically this "thinking" can be categorized into two columns, which can be defined using any number of terms:
Love/Hate
Positive/Negative
Half Full/Half Empty
Mostly Sunny/Partly Cloudy
Some people choose to see the good and others choose to see the bad. Some seem to come by their view quite naturally, but I wonder if that can really be the case. I tend to think that there is no natural predisposition to see things a certain way. I believe we are trained one way or the other and conduct our lives accordingly.
There are some who have conditioned themselves to see problems, pitfalls, and negativity first. They expect failure and generally distrust everyone. Typically in "Reader Comments" they are the ones who don't identify themselves. They are eager to spew their negativity but don't want anyone to know who they are.
On the other hand, there are those who see rays of light in every situation. They are the ones who see opportunity when faced with a challenge; they are the ones who give others the benefit of the doubt; and they are the ones looking for the survivor amid the rubble. They are not necessarily eager to identify themselves either, but they don't seem to be worried about someone knowing who they are.
I try to be a seeker of light. All of my friends are seekers of light and I'd much rather be around other business associates who seek the same. It's not always easy, though.
One thing is for sure: if I focus on the positives and help others get what they want, I don't have time to worry about all the negative others getting what they deserve.
Monday, May 24, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Be Like an Ant (Replay)
As this new year begins I decided to re-run an earlier blog, written last year. I am finding myself eagerly anticipating the bounty and beauty 2010 holds.
It's late and I've been sitting here replaying the tapes, running back through my mind the conversations and happenings of the day. I do that quite frequently, I guess, wanting to make sure I didn't miss anything or maybe in an effort to clear my mind a bit before nodding off. I'm not sure which always, but it does seem to help me sleep more soundly.
Sleeping soundly is nice, but I imagine there have been many restless nights these last months for most of us. So what have you been thinking about? What has kept you awake or tossing and turning?
I'm hoping the questions are more like, "How do I take advantage of the opportunity before me? What can I do to set myself apart and excel in these times?"
And less like, "How am I possibly going to make it?...through this new year?...or even tomorrow?"
Everyday I find myself searching for the good news, the positive stuff that doesn't make the front page of anything. I can find it, but I have to regularly sift through a lot of crap to see it. Maybe that's what makes me enjoy and appreciate it all the more.
I live in Minnesota. Those of you who don't or haven't or haven't been, probably hold a certain image of this place. Some are accurate and some perpetuate legends. But I can tell you, having moved and lived in a few different climates, that Minnesotans probably embrace the seasons more fervently than many others, though I'm sure we are not alone in our fervor.
Why is that? Well, logical thought and a common answer would be the length and severity of the winter. You would probably hear that from most anyone you asked, but I believe it has something more to do with acceptance and anticipation.
There is a certainty, a knowing, that nothing lasts forever. I remember my mother telling me exactly that at a younger age when pimples seemed to appear, re-appear, and multiply daily--at the most crucial dating moments. (I wondered if she secretly oiled my face at night as I slept, in an effort to thwart my plans of an acne-free approach to a potential date.)
But nothing does last forever. Not the Minneapolis winters, the Seattle rain, nor the Houston humidity. Nor acne. They come. They go. Just like the good times and the bad times. They come. They go.
It's what we do with the in-between that makes the difference. It is how we prepare for each that sets us apart and sets us up.
A former mentor of mine used to tell me to study ants. You see, he'd say, ants have it all right. All summer long they work like mad, constantly reaping and harvesting and storing and preparing for winter, because they know it is coming. It always does. And they always have enough to make it through the winter, but while they are surviving that they are making plans for the spring and summer and how they are going to take advantage of the bounty that is promised each and every time the good weather rolls around. He'd tell me the ants were always making plans well beyond the moment of their circumstance. They were always looking forward, always preparing.
It's late and I've been sitting here replaying the tapes, running back through my mind the conversations and happenings of the day. I do that quite frequently, I guess, wanting to make sure I didn't miss anything or maybe in an effort to clear my mind a bit before nodding off. I'm not sure which always, but it does seem to help me sleep more soundly.
Sleeping soundly is nice, but I imagine there have been many restless nights these last months for most of us. So what have you been thinking about? What has kept you awake or tossing and turning?
I'm hoping the questions are more like, "How do I take advantage of the opportunity before me? What can I do to set myself apart and excel in these times?"
And less like, "How am I possibly going to make it?...through this new year?...or even tomorrow?"
Everyday I find myself searching for the good news, the positive stuff that doesn't make the front page of anything. I can find it, but I have to regularly sift through a lot of crap to see it. Maybe that's what makes me enjoy and appreciate it all the more.
I live in Minnesota. Those of you who don't or haven't or haven't been, probably hold a certain image of this place. Some are accurate and some perpetuate legends. But I can tell you, having moved and lived in a few different climates, that Minnesotans probably embrace the seasons more fervently than many others, though I'm sure we are not alone in our fervor.
Why is that? Well, logical thought and a common answer would be the length and severity of the winter. You would probably hear that from most anyone you asked, but I believe it has something more to do with acceptance and anticipation.
There is a certainty, a knowing, that nothing lasts forever. I remember my mother telling me exactly that at a younger age when pimples seemed to appear, re-appear, and multiply daily--at the most crucial dating moments. (I wondered if she secretly oiled my face at night as I slept, in an effort to thwart my plans of an acne-free approach to a potential date.)
But nothing does last forever. Not the Minneapolis winters, the Seattle rain, nor the Houston humidity. Nor acne. They come. They go. Just like the good times and the bad times. They come. They go.
It's what we do with the in-between that makes the difference. It is how we prepare for each that sets us apart and sets us up.
A former mentor of mine used to tell me to study ants. You see, he'd say, ants have it all right. All summer long they work like mad, constantly reaping and harvesting and storing and preparing for winter, because they know it is coming. It always does. And they always have enough to make it through the winter, but while they are surviving that they are making plans for the spring and summer and how they are going to take advantage of the bounty that is promised each and every time the good weather rolls around. He'd tell me the ants were always making plans well beyond the moment of their circumstance. They were always looking forward, always preparing.
That's good stuff and for some reason I thought about it as I re-ran the tapes of my day. I guess I want to be like an ant in some ways. If you put something in front of an ant, they either grab it and drag it with them or go around it and continue with their business, focused on their mission. Either way, they are not easily distracted from what they have set out to do regardless of what is going on around them.
Yup, I want to be more like an ant.
Yup, I want to be more like an ant.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
