Talk to Your Problems, Don’t Let Them Talk to You

A note to young leaders.

Are you talking to your problems? Or are your problems talking to you?

Here’s what it sounds like when your problems talk to you: “I’m in deep trouble if I lose this contract. How am I going to explain what happened to my manager? It will not look good for me and my team.” And so on.

And here’s what it sounds like when you talk to your problems: “We will do our best to save the contract but, even if we lose it, with the improvements we are making, it won’t take long before we win much bigger contracts from much better clients.” And so on.

Listening to your problems is debilitating. Talking to your problems is empowering.

Problems and offences must come. Like birds, they will constantly fly overhead. Make sure not to let them nest in your mind.