Good Morning, Guys,
I hope that all of you had a great weekend and for those of you that celebrate Easter, a Sunday filled with renewed hope and spirit. I am still in Pittsburgh, having celebrated the weekend with family and friends. I will be heading home later today, but I simply had to find some time to jot down a few thoughts that popped into my head. So I beg your indulgence for a rather hastily written Motivator that I call “Obstacles.”
Obstacles
After my recent encounter with the vagaries of air travel, fraught with delays, missed connections, and long layovers, I started to think about the many obstacles that all of us face in our lives and how we deal with them. Some are major, posing real threats to our wellbeing or setbacks to our progress. More often than not, however, most obstacles are of the nuisance variety, challenging our patience and resolve. It’s how we deal with these on a daily basis that defines us. Now, I am not referring here to our initial responses, as those tend to be very visceral and often irrational. Hell, mine range from mellow amusement to Neanderthal like intensity accompanied by a full array of expletives and hand gestures, which I leave to your imagination and creativity.
In the instance of the flight delays, after my first reactions, I settled into having dinner and writing an installment for the motivator. My day was not as planned, but I was able to salvage some of it for a good purpose. How often, I thought, does this actually happen in a lifetime? The answer is, of course, far too often and we literally spend a good portion of our existence overcoming obstacles.
Have you ever driven a familiar and oft used route and then one day come upon a delay or detour. Did you turn around and go back home or did you try to get around it? I think we all know the answer to that. On occasion, have you taken an unfamiliar road and actually ended up discovering a new and better route. It doesn’t happen that way all the time, but sometimes it actually comes out in your favor.
I am a pretty fair handy man and comfortable around power tools. Every once in a while, when completing a project, I come up against a problem I had not anticipated. Something just does not go as planned. That wall stud was just not supposed to be there. I was sure that pipe was half inch and not three quarters. Yet, I don’t ever recall giving up the project or calling in an expert, but often found a new way to tackle the job and learned something from my mistakes in the process. If nothing else, I was certain to be more careful in my measurements the next time around.
How many times at work, when under the gun, fighting a deadline or just battling the monster of bureaucratic administrivia that seems to rule the better part of corporate America, do you find yourself doing a work around, a “quick and dirty” and actually discovering a better or faster way of doing things? It might be simply that no one has ever questioned the process or why it’s done in a particular way.
My point is, friends, that obstacles are a part of life. They are nothing new and they are not going to go away. And one thing for sure, ignoring them is not going to get you far. Get mad, if you must. At least I do. It’s human nature. Anger can be a cleansing emotion. For me it clears the mind and a few well-chosen words and gestures are like a war cry. I had a boss once who was very good at judging character. I called him once after a particularly bloody meeting in which I had ranted about some new policy or other. I asked him if he was upset with me and he said no, because he knew that once I vented and got it off my chest, I was going to work harder than anyone in that room to make the whole thing a success. However you first react, is unimportant. It’s what you do next that will make the difference between success and failure. It is then the time to get even and solve the problem, devise the work-around, find the new route and even learn from your mistakes.
For it is certain that obstacles will always exist and that they can lessen us, or they can lesson us.
Have a great week!
__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
I am just now getting into reading these MMMMs. Wow, the last few have been great. As a lurker moving toward active participation, I am discovering lots of world class advice and lessons in this forum.
Mahler, sorry I did not introduce myself at the summit. But now I wish I would have. Oh well, I will make up for it next year.
Once again, great advice.
Scott
__________________
"We're gonna have a little Q&A, and at the risk of sounding redundant, please... make your answers genuine." - Vincenzo Coccotti (Christopher Walken) from the movie "True Romance"
Awesome John truely awesome My biggest obstacle has almost been overcome. Thank you for the strength to see these last two brutal weeks through to the end. I'm going to carry this one with me while I complete this journey.
Thanks, John. This has come at a most opportune time. As Ryan said, just what I needed.
__________________
"Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right." - Henry Ford
"UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." - Dr. Seuss
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have got hold of for a moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." - George Bernard Shaw
Boy, I am glad to see the bumps and recent views. This baby took a nosedive in less than 24 hours. Do the words "still born" mean anything. Thanks, guys.
__________________ In Fitness & Friendship, MAHLER
______________________________ __________________________ There is no light at the end of the tunnel. You carry the light with you.
Location: Philly on one side, Pittsburgh on another, the Green Between...
Posts: 5,857
I'm reminded of Teddy Roosevelt, who, when he used to take his children for walks, would take them over the roughest terrain he could find. When they came upon an obstacle, they could go over it, under it, or through it...never around it. That always stuck with me. Thanks for sharing, John.
Mahler's Monday Morning Motivator # 111 - Obstacles
Linear Mode
