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FROM CHALLENGE TO
OPPORTUNITY
'Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.'
Publilius Syrus
From time to time in your life, the waters will be completely calm and you
may feel that you are sailing smoothly - performing at your best and
minding your own business.
Then out of left field, you may be thrown an unexpected and unanticipated
challenge. A challenge that does more than just mildly disrupt your day.
A challenge that can bring out the worst - or the best in you.
The thing that sets people apart, as Syrus alludes to in the opening
quote, is how we choose to respond to these challenges.
Many of our responses are habitual, derived from either our natural
instincts or through witnessing others' behaviour in similar
circumstances. Sometimes our instinctive behaviour is useful, but
many of us will benefit from learning more effective methods to deal with
and learn from life's challenges.
M. Scott Peck begins his book 'The Road Less Travelled' with the quote
'Life is difficult.' If we choose to accept that this is the truth
and know that we will undoubtedly face adversity in life, we can hold
ourselves steady in the moment and face a challenge by taking a deep
breath, before asking ourselves 'how do I want to respond to this?'.
In the moment, it is rarely evident that any challenge is an opportunity
for growth - but inevitably, it is our suffering that teaches us most
about ourselves and others. Each difficulty provides us with the
chance to be creative and resourceful in working towards a solution.
One of the most important things for us to remember, is that once the
challenge has passed, we will want to reflect back on our own response and
feel pleased with the way we conducted ourselves. As Martin Seligman aptly
states in 'Authentic Happiness', 'In your own life, you should take
particular care with endings, for their color will forever tinge your
memory...'
Next time you are faced with a challenge, take a few deep breaths and ask
yourself:
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What is the lesson I needed to learn?
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What is the positive to come from this?
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How do I want to respond to this so that I will feel good about myself
later?
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ON A PERSONAL NOTE
Firstly, I want to thank
all of the warm and generous readers who wrote to me last month sending
their words of support. I realised what a privileged position I am
in. The people who subscribe to my newsletters are people who care
about improving themselves and the world around them. Most are highly
emotionally intelligent and decent people. To be supported by such a large
group of 'friends' was both humbling and inspiring. Thank you again
for your all of your generous words of support.
The difficulties are now behind me and if anything, I can now see that
what happened was actually timely and opportune.
Our Corporate Chillout program had been growing quite rapidly and it was
time to make a decision about how best to take it into the future. Having
always considered myself a small business owner, I have been somewhat
relaxed about some of the legal issues that larger organisations concern
themselves with. After my experience of the past couple of months, I have
now chosen to treat my small business with the same respect I would if it
were a huge corporation! Corporate Chillout is now an entity of its own
with every 'i' dotted and every 't' crossed.
We have an exceptional team of people already in Melbourne (and we are
still growing) and we are about to launch the programs in Sydney.
For me, the challenge became an opportunity. Not only to look at where I
could improve my business and learn more about the complexities of intellectual
property law (all of which makes me a much more savvy business coach!) but
also to connect with others as they shared similar stories.
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We are happy for you to reproduce our
articles as long as they remain intact and contain the author's details as
follows:
'Kate James is a work life balance coach, speaker and writer. She works
with thirty-something professionals who want to enhance their quality of
life by making the right career and life choices. You can find Kate at
www.totalbalance.com.au.' |
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