The below thoughts have been generated by the discussion with a colleague, who is anxiously worrying about his (ours?) business future, in the mid / long-term horizon. He is deeply worried about our company’s development (or the absence of it) in the next couple of years and how that could possibly affect our personal carrer development or even worse, at worst-case scenario, even terminate it.
We certainly have to admit that the times that we are going through, on all levels (financially, socially, on the level of carrer development etc.) are extremely frustrating and the notion of «job security» seems like a fable of the past, with everything & everyone being at stake, insecurity knocking on all our doors and the ghost of unemployment lingering above our necks. There is no denying that no man (or woman) is secure in his / her present job position and noone can guarantee us that the jobs we are presently working at, will be the ones to escort us all the way to our retirement.
However, leaving this fear of losing our jobs to dominate out everyday lives, offers no help at all, as far as I am concerned. Things may develop on one direction, maybe on another, maybe on a third we never saw coming, maybe new business prospects will open up or pass as by, maybe, maybe, maybe… A thousand different potentials may unfold in front of our eyes.
What it is extremely important, in my opinion, is for someone to be in the position and have the knowledge and cool head to determine how much his / her own work & contribution, on any possible level, can affect the outcome of things. Try to find out where and how you fit in (or… you don’t), determine your own actions to effect things to the desired effect (if possible) or seek alternative ways of action (or… ways out, if necessary) and, at worst, accept the things you cannot affect.
I would like to focus on the last part of the above sentence. Acceptance of the things you cannot affect the outcome of, is not blind acceptance of «fate». Fate, in my book, is what we make out of our lives, and not what «happens» in them. I am talking about having the wisdom to be able to define the things you cannot determine the effect they will have on your life, any way they develop, from the things that you can.
As the Anglo-Saxon prayer goes:
«Lord, give me the strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can and the wisdom to know the difference.»
Words to live by. The wisdom to be able to define the thin line that separates them, is what makes the whole difference in learning to live. Only when you have mastered the above, you will be able to progress to the next level of thinking, of being at peace with the things that you cannot change and moving them out, mentally, from the affect they have on your life. Then you can understand that there is absolutely no meaning in spending your life worrying about things you cannot determine their outcome of. But… if you can…? Well, get up on your feet and start doing something about it, today and not tomorrow! Excuse me for the quote-bombarding, but a good, Chinese proverb is perfectly fitting our text:
There are two things in life that one should never worry about:
a) The things that you can change and b) those that you can’t.
Find out in your own life which is which. Target the things that you can change from those that you can’t and start taking your life in your own hands. Oh and as far worrying for the future goes:
A person who worries about the past, is depressive. A person who worries about the future, is full of anxiety. A person who lives in the present, is free.
Till next time,
Hector
The Hector Arcadius' Blog Spot 