Answer The CALL!

Recently I was waiting with my wife at a doctor’s office for a three-year check-up.? While we were there sitting in the waiting room, we noticed another family that came in. It was a mother and a father with their son.? He was probably 18-20 and built like a linebacker for a professional football team.? This was an office that when a patient went back, the office would CALL you when they were ready to be picked up.? Based on what the findings were, you anticipated the CALL to come in with good news.? Thankfully when I received the CALL from the doctor, she informed me that my wife was good and that I would receive another CALL when she was ready to be picked up.? While I was waiting for that CALL the family, I referenced earlier got their CALL from the doctor.? The mother answered the phone and her demeanor changed.? She listened attentively and based off of her responses, I believe that they had found something that caused concern.? As she motioned to her husband to step outside, my heart felt for the family and the CALL they received.? Have you ever been waiting for a CALL and were scared to answer? Let’s take a look at how answering the CALL can impact you:

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Concern?????????????????????????? Concern is a real emotion response!? It can lead to deeper worry or anxiousness, or even fear.? It can also be an interest of something or someone.? If you have a concern about a CALL, that doesn't mean it will be negative or bad news.? Understanding and knowing how you are wired helps when you have a concern.? It can push you or drive you towards achieving or solving the root of the fear you are facing.? What response are you waiting on?? It may not be an actual CALL from someone, it might be an answer you need to tell yourself.? Often our concern suppresses our actions, when on the flip side, it should drive you to push on and achieve what needs to be done to minimize the impact of something. What answer are you waiting to give yourself?? Are you ready to answer the CALL to make changes and make a decision or make a difference?

Avoid???????????????????????????????? Avoiding is not answering the CALL.? Just because you don’t answer your phone doesn’t mean that the concern or issue is not there or not real.? It may prolong the inevitable, or it may allow things to snowball and progress negatively.? Avoiding is not the answer.? If the family I observed had not answered the call, it would not have changed the results.? What are you avoiding?? What are you scared of?? Is it helping to avoid it, or hurting?? We have ALL avoided something because we did not want to deal with it or did not want to hear an answer.? Don’t avoid it, answer it!? Look to those around you that you trust to help you answer the CALL.? Overcoming your fear to answer and overcoming your challenge may set your momentum moving forward to positively spill over into different aspects of your life.?

Listen???????????????????????????????? Listen carefully!? Make sure you are hearing what is being said. Your “CALL” may be a meeting or a session where you are getting feedback from your leadership or those closest to you.? Sure, depending on what is being said, our mind and our bodies may react differently.? Have you ever received an update or news and you felt lightheaded, or the room began to spin?? Did what you were hearing fade out?? Many have probably had a situation similar to this at some point in your life, however it was your body responding to a flight mode response.? Shutting down what is going on around to help focus on the core or your body.? Just as important to listen to make sure you understand, you also need to shut down what you don’t need to hear.? There can be a fine line between the two, however listen to the constructive feedback that will help you get better and improve.? Let the negative feedback go to voicemail and delete them.

Lean?????????????????????????????????? Lean into the CALL.? Have you ever seen someone talking on a phone and they are not holding it close to their ear, and they don’t have speaker phone on?? You must lean into the CALL to hear it clearly, just like you have to pull the phone in to your ear to hear more clearly.? Depending on what we hear, make sure you have someone around you that you can lean on.? Hopefully you have someone you can trust and that you can lean on.? Leaning on someone is not just physically leaning on them for a hug, or for support, it can also mean sharing what is going on in your life and verbalizing your concern or challenge with trust and confidence to help you move forward for a solution.? A key piece to this is also being a person that they can lean on too!? Lean on me.?

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Based off of your personality, or what you do for a living, when the phone rings you answer it.? Or, you might be one of those individuals that does not like to answer it and let it go to voicemail.? A CALL can be a four-letter word and it can be tough at times, and tough to hear what you hear when you answer it.? Life is not always easy, and it is not always hard either.? Answering the CALL can be hard and full of concern.? You can’t avoid it, answer it.? When you do, listen to what is being said and lean into what you hear.? Just like the song originally by Bill Withers goes, “Just CALL on me brother when you need a hand. We all need somebody to lean on.”? Find one and be one!?

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Stay safe and stay well!