Crisis or Correction?

Things come and go with such blinding speed that it is hard to keep up. Days turn into weeks, months, years, decades, and so on. During our life, we will experience several different emotions both personally and professionally. Ups and Downs. Success and Failure. Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Disappointment, Discouragement, Encouragement to name a few. We go thru seasons where things go extremely well while others leave us feeling like we cannot get a break. There are times where the victories are sweet while the defeats somehow knock us off our feet. There are moments when things spiral out of control to the point where we sense a real crisis. One of the more familiar terms is when erratic behavior is dismissed as someone who is going thru a mid- life crisis. What age is that so I can stay clear? (Just kidding). Or, we seem to pile up quite a number of setbacks in a short period that place us in crisis mode. We begin a desperate search to figure out what to do in order to get back on an even plateau. All signs seem to point to a closed door at every turn, we don't get the nod for the job, promotion, house, or loan. Does this translate into a crisis or are we merely forced to make a correction? As we have seen from the financial markets, there are extreme highs and perceived lows. The adjustment in the market is known as a correction. Could this be what you are currently growing thru? In my view, a crisis does not necessarily have a pathway to victory. A correction, however, forces us to examine some better moves to shift the outcome in our favor. A correction requires us to consider the following.

Change Course: We may have been doing the same things for quite some time with nominal results. However, the rules change, the circumstances change, and the same course will no longer bring the desired results. It may be time to change the course we follow. It may require a different strategy, direction, and yes, mindset to press forward thru the wall of perceived crisis.

Back To Fundamentals: We may have gotten into a rut and lost track of what got us to our level of previous success. It may be time to go back to the basics. What disciplines did you follow earlier in your career that fell by the wayside? What has caused your creativity, enthusiasm, and drive to decrease? We may be facing a perceived crisis because things are not as good as they used to be. It may be time to re-start doing what got us to a level of success in the first place. Back into training camp.

Filtering Regret: One of the biggest things I have heard from people reaching the twilight of their life is what they wished they had done. They feel regret because they did not take a chance when they could. They did not go after their dream, start the business, give more into the community, or to their family. Whatever it is, while you still have breath, you have a shot. I have seen first hand people over 50 getting into the best shape of their life, starting a non profit, go back to school, or even run for elective office. Don't allow life to pass you by any longer. As we get older, we do have the tendency to settle into a routine. We wake at the same time, drive the same route to work, eat the same lunch, and do the same activities. Try changing the order in which you handle the day. Drive a different way, try a new drink at Starbucks, and add something new to your daily routine. You are setting up a course correction by trying a different approach.

Career Correction: I am not going to address our career choices except to say some of us may be ready to try something new. If you have gone as far as you can go with a particular company, it may be time to explore different options. Additionally, if there are things in your personal life that are driving you towards crisis mode, now is the time to make a correction.

All of us have ownership of both the choice and the consequence. As such, we have the ability to correct that which has caused our crisis. One of the best things you can do to benefit your jumpstart is to live in the Now. The regret factor will have you spending too much time in the rear view mirror of your life. What happened has already taken place and the correction is to recognize and apply the lesson learned. Things are usually not as bad as they seem. I would also add that memories and time do not necessarily make them great either. Time does have a way to soften the burn and emotion of the past. The bottom line is that rather than seeing your life as one crisis after another, figure out what corrections you can take to propel your onward to new levels of success. What is your pivot? What adjustments are necessary to shift your focus and attention towards solving a situation rather than suffering thru past results? A crisis is when we do nothing about what has happened. A correction is the result of actually taking action to improve our situation. Challenge yourself to move towards the latter and what has appeared to be life shattering will transition to life altering. (And usually for the better!)

To Your Correction!