What if we choose this?

I sent this Bonus Thought out to my newsletter subscribers on Monday. I thought it was worth publishing the entire piece, and since then have read several articles and posts that show the data behind this. Without further ado, here we go...

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I’m going to go a bit off the deep end here for a moment, so hang on.

I read something today that sparked an interesting line of thinking. If we look at all this forced isolation and economic shutdown from a climate perspective, this is going to be a super healing time period for our planet.

What if we all collectively decided to do something like this once a year. We all shut it down and reduce travel, manufacturing and consumption for some short period of time. It could decelerate our carbon footprint by years.

Also, the added bonus of choosing to go into “shelter from home” mode is that we are making the choice. And when have the mindset of making the choice ourselves, it’s much more agreeable and acceptable than someone else forcing it upon us.

So from now on, I’ve decided to take the mindset of all of this isolation and self-sheltering is not only to help flatten the curve and save lives, but to help heal the planet. Times two multiplier for the win!

How do I control the things I can't control?

We humans have been hardwired to desire a perception of control since before there was recorded history. Studies show that control is not only essential for our well-being, but that in earlier times it was a biological imperative for our survival as a species.

So it's no wonder we want to control anything and everything.

And yet we can't.

We can't control the weather. We can't control the color of the sky. We can't control other people's feelings and experiences. In fact, there is actually very little in this world that we as an individual can control.

The simplified version of what we can control from my perspective is this:

• Mindset
• Focus
• Self Care
• How we show up

That's pretty much it.

All of those things within our control are internal, and yet we put some much effort into trying controlling the external world. We spin our wheels and exhaust ourselves physically, emotionally and spiritually with virtually nothing to show for it. And it makes sense if we think about it from an evolutionary standpoint. Our ability to control was central to our survival, but now it's almost the opposite.

Today, our ability to let go of the need for control of our external environment is key to our health and happiness. What served our ancestors so well is the very thing that is holding us back today.

When I find myself trying to control the things I cannot control, I go through a simple exercise.

What's the worst that could happen? What's the best that could happen? And what's the most likely thing that could happen? Once I identify these, I make them real in my mind so that I can feel and experience each of these possible paths. From there, I'm able to let go of my need to control the things I can't control. I have prepared myself for whatever will happen, so I can focus on the things I can control.

Trust me, I know this is easier said than done. I'm experiencing this all right now in real time with my father being in the hospital. And I keep coming back to this frame of control. I will control the things that are within my control, and I'll let the rest of it go.

Where the hell is the gift?

Everything is a gift.

This is a core belief that has been instilled in me over and over again for many years. We have an opportunity to find a gift in each and every situation that presents itself to us. The good, the bad, the ugly, all of it.

“Everything is a gift of the universe – even joy, anger, jealously, frustration, or separateness. Everything is perfect either for our growth or our enjoyment.” -- Ken Keyes Jr.

I'll be the first to admit. It's not always easy to find the gift. It may be buried deep or may take years to reveal itself.

Sometimes it takes an external perspective or coaching to help reveal the gift. It's a line of questioning I refer back to frequently. If this less-than-desirable thing has happened, will happen or must happen, so be it, but where is the gift in it? What can we learn from this? How can we leverage it in the future? What has it revealed to us that we were previously unaware of? How have we grown or changed in response to it?

On a conversation this morning, I've witnessed this scarcity-to-abundance flip unlock a new idea that could turn a loss into a massive win for everyone involved. It was a shift that took place in only a few minutes and yet could have far reaching positive implications.

Some of the best and most unique innovations in recent memory have come as a pivot when one thing seemingly didn't work but it opened up the possibility for something far, far greater than previously imaginable. Interestingly if I was a professional investor, I would definitely figure out how to filter for this mindset in the entrepreneurs I was investing in.

You can't force a gift to reveal itself, but we sure can do our best to be open for when it does.