Only Time Will Tell (Hey Gabrielle!)

Whatever you are telling yourself about the future, it is always unknown

My favourite Mark Twain quote goes; “I’ve lived through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”

If you’re anything like me, a good proportion of your head noise has very little to do with reality, and a lot to do with the story you’re telling yourself.?

Your opinions and judgements are often based on perceptions rather than evidenced thinking, or taking the time to fully understand. You’re creating your very own fake news show, and a lot of the time you aren’t even aware it's running.

It gets worse.

When you are stressed and under pressure, the chemical cocktail your brain produces is a breeding ground for fear, paranoia and neuroticism.? This feeds the fake news machine. On a big picture level there is always plenty of news and social commentary to be making stories up about too. This is certainly true at the moment.

Fact! Whatever you are telling yourself about the future, it is always unknown

This Chinese proverb makes the point better than I ever could…

Mustang Story (Maybe not, maybe so, we’ll see)

A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbours exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbours shouted out, “Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the mares and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The villagers cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck! Who will plough the field?” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all the able-bodied boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, still recovering from his injury. Friends shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

Only time will tell

No event, in and of itself, can truly be judged as good or bad, lucky or unlucky, fortunate or unfortunate. Only time will tell the whole story. Additionally, no one really lives long enough to find out the whole story, so it could be considered a great waste of time to judge inconveniences as misfortunes. Or to invest a lot of energy into things that look outstanding on the surface, but may not pay off in the end.

Questions that might help…

What’s a story you are telling yourself currently?

How much of that have you made up?

What might a different story serve you better?

Subscribe to The Leader's Response (Or The Leader's Voice), at my website for 10 short articles for leaders responding to Cyclone Gabrielle.

We’ve got this NZ.

Arohanui, Matt