There are times when things don't go right - perhaps a project gone awry, a difficult conversation , a milestone not reached despite best efforts , a disagreement with someone.
Shit happens ; this is inevitable . When you are passionate about something it really hurts when this happens.
There's a quote in Colin Powell 's book "It worked for me - In Life and Leadership" that always stuck with me "It ain't as bad as you think . It will look better in the morning".
However bad the situation is, however impossible the situation may seem, where a solution seems next to impossible - give it some time to sink in and settle.
Firstly, just sleeping over it dulls the anxiety we feel about a certain topic. When you wake up the next day you find what you were worrying about yesterday was not that gut wrenching after all .
Secondly, our subconscious mind is a wonderful thing. It cranks away in the background about the problem and comes up with a solution that may not be as apparent at first. Have you ever experienced an epiphany when taking a shower or how doing a mindless chore like scrubbing dishes triggers some creative thinking? This is no accident . When you do mindless things , the part of your brain responsible for muscle memory is ignoring the part of your brain responsible for creative thinking, allowing it to do its own thing (like pondering that next big creative breakthrough!)
"Do nothing" is probably the best solution for our trickiest problems for which solutions are not easily apparent. Next time something goes horribly wrong.. do nothing!
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