Perception is the key to longevity
There’s a strange thing that happens in the business world. That thing, is associating problems with importance. The more problems someone faces in a day, the more important they appear to be.
A recent podcast with Dr. Benjamin Hardy mentioned a study on stress. The study showed that how you view a stressful situation will determine if the stress of that situation has a positive or negative impact on your physical and mental well being.
There are many reasons why we feel stress in a business context. Most of the time it’s because there is a problem we are facing.
Or is it? The thing about problems, is that they are really just situations. I’m reminded of the saying, “The problem, is what you make it.”
Maybe it’s better to say “The problem is how you define problems?”
For me, problems are rare. This is because I define problems as a situation that has no possibility of reaching a positive outcome.
If you think about it, there are very few of these situations, in which case, what you are facing is simply a challenge.
Challenges are good. They force us to rise to the occasion, to overcome, to innovate, and to win.
The challenge is what makes business a game worth playing, something you love to do, something you’re proud of.
The trick … disassociate your job or career with life and death. I know what you’re thinking “LIFE and DEATH!? Who associates their job with that!”
Anyone who’s afraid to lose their job because they need a paycheck to buy food and pay rent/mortgages.
Needing a paycheck isn’t a bad thing, we go to work to provide for our families. An inherently noble act.
An act that most of us need to perform over the duration of a +40-year career. That’s an incredibly long time if all you do is struggle with fake problems.