Facts…

Recently I told a client of mine his focus needed a bit of a redirect. He’s been feeling tired lately – like he’s drowning. He’s been feeling kinda stupid that he’s not built a more sustainable model for his masterpioece. He told me he’s feeling like a dumb shit.

I heard the hurt and the sadness in his tone and saw it etched across his face and shoulders. So, I did what I tend to do. I challenged him to focus on facts.

On the left side of a sheet of paper write all that is good in your work. And, on the right, all that is bad. He couldn’t come up with much after a few minutes. I told him to keep writing. His pen picked up the pace as I poured some more coffee in his cup. After a few minutes more, I asked him to read me the bad. All that he read me was a bunch of negative feelings that were projecting negatives into his future. Damn.

I asked him to recall the facts of the road he’s traversed this past year. The facts revealed something quite contrary to his current feelings. You see, he just dug himself out of a deep hole. He’d been on an adrenaline high as he fought for his work life. Now he’s out of the hole and standing above ground, his nervous system has returned to normal and the chemical rush subsided. He feels down.

This is normal. Fact.

As he let these facts roll over him, his face began to crack a bit of a smile, as did mine. Together, we began to focus on the facts facing him and his team. Energy returned as quickly as he turned his focus away from how to he felt.

Feelings, you see, cannot always be trusted. Focus on facts and marry your mind to productive action, regardless the storm you’re in. You and I cannot control circumstances, other people, tumors, and certainly not the future. We can catch our feelings when they go destructive and STOP them from spreading. We can turn our focus to the facts and choose to act. Where, friend, is your focus – feelings or facts? Slow down. Reflect. Write. Choose PA (productive action). Feeling better? You will. Fact.

Live hard. Love harder…