It's Just "News"

I remember back when I got promoted to a significant role a few years back and they took the obligatory headshot with one of the most incredible high-tech cameras I have ever seen. I was so proud, beaming and ready to share my good news and digital copy of the photo with my family. I went home and just as I shared my news, my oldest yelled “booger”! Yup, sure enough this 800-megapixel camera caught some hanging chad, let’s say. My wife said, “Well ‘that’s news’ as your mother would say.”

My mother often would say to me there is no such thing as bad or good news, it’s just news and how you respond to it will determine the outcomes. I really didn’t get it till I got older, but I think she’s right about that and a whole lot more. She should know, she was a domestic violence survivor and single mother, and no matter what life threw at her, she was extremely resilient, calm and more importantly selfless. But it also was powerful to witness how she often changed outcomes with what she could control. Whether she watched news and stepped in to help disadvantaged children, mentor youth, she chose not to focus on the bad, but what she could control and contribute.

I think given our situation, I am now living those lessons. As we face a pandemic and look for rationalization and hope, I have come to realize a few things I can do.

1. Work on the things you control. In the face of uncertainty, focus on what is certain and known.
2. Give back. If you are more fortunate than someone else, give back to the best of your ability. I have chosen a few organizations recently, but the one that at this time has resonated with me is Feeding America (www.FeedingAmerica.org), as a person that benefited from an organization like this in my youth and is now helping millions of people now.
3. Lead from your seat. We are all leaders that can influence something or someone if we choose to. Our culture is such that it allows everyone to have a voice.
4. Be an example for others. As a parent, partner, leader, person, and colleague I am conscious of how I react to things and treat others. I think this has never been more true than now.

So no matter what life throws at you, (whether it’s boogers on a photo or something worse), just remember it’s news and how you react and act can help determine the larger outcome.