I feel as if the world is on fire—or is a half-step away from being on fire. The terrorist attack in Israel, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the subsequent terrorist threats across the world. Then there’s our politics in the US. The less said on that, the better.
A dear friend and colleague will have what we suspect will be extensive surgery tomorrow, on my birthday. While I hope the surgery is successful, he will have a long and challenging recovery.
I feel powerless. That means each of these things challenges my problem-solving and resilience.
Worse, if I allow myself to worry, how can I get my work done? How can I succeed?
I can’t.
I’ve done what I can for my circle of concern for the world events: sent emails, called various people, given to several charities. I can only contribute indirectly and request that other people do the “dirty” work. That has to be good enough.
I’ve sent messages of support for my friend. Again, that has to be good enough. That’s because I have a very small circle of influence for world events or my friend. I can only react to those events, not shape the future.
However, I can exercise my circle of control and be proactive. That’s how I can succeed, at least, for me.
Put Your Own Oxygen Mask On First
If you’ve traveled by plane, you always hear, “Put your own oxygen mask on first.” If you can’t stay alive, you can’t help anyone else on the plane. I feel as if that’s how we are right now. We all need to put our own oxygen masks on first.
We can continue to do our work. Will that work change the world? Probably not.
But if it makes our world be a little bit better in some way? That’s worth the time we spend and a huge success.
I believe in the ripple effect. If I make the world a little bit better, every day, I have the possibility of enlarging my circle of control. Maybe even my circle of influence.
But if I stop working to make the world a little better, my circle of control flattens. As does my circle of influence.
Yes, you can see my optimism here. But it’s realistic optimism, not fake optimism.
When we each take a small step and get a little feedback, we can learn from our problem-solving. And build our resilience. We can’t allow the world or even friends’ events to stop us from that first bit of movement.
And that’s why the question this week is: How can you succeed when the world challenges your problem solving and resilience?