By Steve Beseke, beseke1@earthlink.net
Trying to avoid sweating the small stuff has always been a stumbling block for me in my life and career. How about you? My resilience gets sidetracked when I worry about every little thing. When I do this, it sometimes derails my resilience effectiveness in more important matters at home, work, or with friends.
As I have mentioned, all of us want total control of our lives. But sweating the small stuff ultimately allows you even less control of things within your reach.
An example for me is when my highly organized lifestyle gets in the way of my success. When I see co-workers, friends or family not as organized and precise, I feel nervous and want to intercede. A personal example is my daughter ‘s not-so-organized (O.K., messy) bedroom, activity room and bathroom. I want to run in and straighten and clean everything up on a daily basis.
The problem: She would see me as too fussy at the very least, or down right weird/intruding at the extreme. In the relative scheme of things, my daughter’s organizational habits are the small stuff I am talking about.
What I have done to keep my resilience on an even keel (and not challenge my daughter-dad relationship) is defining a couple basic rules for my 14-year old. She must straighten and clean her rooms once a week with an ultimate visit from me. A set allowance and other privileges are in the balance if she does not take such rules seriously.
It has worked well and has allowed me to concentrate on more important “stuff” in my life. Now, I just have to stop dusting my new 2008 GT Mustang (California Style) every five minutes – well, maybe every ten minutes. We’ll see how that goes…
Please think of a “small sweat item” you’d not like to worry about less. Then, develop one or two strategies on how to effectively handle the situation. Please let me know how you come out.
Please stay tuned for more of my resilient examples this week. I look forward to our continuing conversation.
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