While researching a project, I stumbled across the following story.
I’d provide attribution however I don’t have a clue who wrote it.
This story is about a man who was the sole survivor of a shipwreck.
He became stranded on a small desert island with only the items from his vessel that had washed up on the shore with him. The man carefully constructed a small hut to store his few precious belongings and to protect himself from the weather.
One day as we was standing in the ocean fishing for his next meal, he turned around, looked back to shore to see his hut on fire, smoke billowing into the air. In his mind, the worst was happening.
“God, how could you do this to me,” he cried. He believed all was lost.
Later he heard the sound of an approaching ship in the distance. It was coming to rescue him. “How did you know I was here?” asked the man of his rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.
I mentioned before when confronted with a stressful situation, I involuntarily transition to the island of halcyon. Calmness overruns my thoughts, moving from problem focused to future focused.
Conversely, there’s times when an event doesn’t play out the way I hoped it would and I become frustrated. My -Itty Bitty Shitty Committee- goes into overdrive peppering my brain with unfavorable thoughts.
I project the worst like the man on the island.
Then a funny thing happens. I’d say 90% of the time, after some time passes, new information emerges that paints a high def picture of the reason why things didn’t go the way I wanted them to. Reasons I hadn’t even thought of. That’s when I laugh my ass off! 🙂
I decided I needed to do something about quieting the players on the -Itty Bitty Shitty Committee-. I was tired of IBSC being in control; draining my energy by whispering unfavorable anticipation into my conscious.
Today, you know what I do? Instead of laughing at the end when I discover I’m completely wrong, I laugh in the beginning.
The moment -Itty Bitty Shitty Committee- begins lobbing negative thoughts in my direction, I throw a big smile on my face. The smile is a reminder that everything will be good in the end.
IBSC gets quiet and moves on to an easier target.
What about you? What can you do to quiet your -Itty Bitty Shitty Committee-?
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Have a great week!
Photo by takomabibelot.
hi steve; yes we have to develop strategies to keep the gremlins away. i do my best to find the positive in all things. recently i wrote my first ebook. I got it published with the help of a talented editor. so far the book has sold one copy and i have spent $270 to get it online. However, I received a payment in the mail from where i had over paid a vendor two years ago. so, while i want the book to be a success; now i don’t have to focus so much on that. I can remind myself how much of an accomplishment it was to write the thing in the first place. and i do have quite a few people reading free copies who have promised reviews. and next month i should get the book listed on amazon and nook. right now its just available on my site and i have to remember that too. next up I want to record some videos based on the book. and hoping the book or the videos will result in new clients. thanks for your post, max
Max, sounds like you’re doing a lot to move book sales in the right direction.
Good luck as you move into 2015.
hi steve; yes but today is a good example of your post. i am doing a radio show interview with stuart vener. when i sent the pitch letter i didn’t know or even check to see audience size or demographics. when i found out his audience is over 2 million in the u s alone i started to get nervous thinking who am i to go on such a important show. but then i reminded myself of what yota said to luke there is no big or small there just is. i thought okay i have a good story and i will be telling it to one person. who cares how many people are listening its still just me and stuart one on one. thanks for the post, max
You must be excited about Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens!
Break a leg!
hi steve; well it only lasted about ten minutes. think i did well but prefer longer interview segments. will have to see if i can do something to get invited back. and yes i can’t wait til the next star wars movie, max
I find it helpful to talk to others. It’s amazing the perspective a bit of distance can provide.
Talking to others who don’t have an emotional attachment to the outcome is always a good path to take.