“If only we can get this one issue taken care of, everything else will fall into place,” you say to yourself.
Bullhooey. Life doesn’t play along that way.
“If we could just land this one, big new client, everything would be fine in our business.” Sometimes those big new clients end up being trouble.
“If we could just get this new product to market, the revenue situation for our organization would dramatically improve!” That’s when the manufacturing plant making your product burns down.
“Oh my gosh, I love this client, they love us, we are both thriving in this relationship, and I can’t believe our good fortune!” That’s when your client leaves to take another job.
“If only we had this tool, this shiny new object, a better CRM system, better skills….,” you’ll plead, “Then we could finally do what needs to be done.” Then you realize it ain’t the tools, it is you.
Face it, pal, life just has NO PLANS to cooperate.
You’ll have been yearning for a good day. And when that day finally comes and meets your expectations, and things start to feel right again…
Boom.
Something unexpected and out of left field pops up, and smacks you upside the head.
“Wait a minute,” you’ll ponder. “Where in the hell did that come from?”
That’s how it is pal. Life deals cards, and the hand you get often times is not what you expected.
Oh sure, sometimes it works out better than expected. And then, of course, other times it works out worse than you expected.
You will find that just when you think you’ve got a handle on things, something pops up out of nowhere that upsets the apple cart.
So stop taking these things so personally. Stop taking blame for everything going wrong…blaming bad karma and that you just aren’t up to the task.
It might not be you.
Sometimes you need to make changes. Sometimes BIG changes. But remember this: sometimes you have no control. And sometimes you are just in the wrong situation, and it isn’t meant to be. And it is perfectly ok to move on and live to fight another day.
Do your best. Try your hardest. Plan as best you can. Go forward with as sincere of intentions as you can muster. Work hard. Be honorable…
That is what counts. That is what matters. The pride you feel in fighting the good fight.
If things don’t pan out, you’ll live to fight another day. And the sun will come up tomorrow. A new battle worth fighting for will come. A new cause worth bleeding for will arise.
Meaning will come.
Life’s ride is unpredictable. And there’s nothing you can do about that. So, hop on, hold tight, and relish the frenzy. Those are the moments you will look back upon with pride and satisfaction…
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Drawing by Hugh MacLeod.
