We have 100% control of how we respond to what happens in life & work…
Many years ago BEFORE Covid, I was sitting at my (home office) desk designing a coaching program for a client. My (then 16 year old) daughter kept coming in & interrupting me.
The 3rd time, I dropped my hands on the desk & said, “Oh my goodness…you’re frustrating me with the interruptions.”
She replied calmly, “Now mom, you know I don’t have the power to frustrate you. YOU are CHOOSING to be frustrated.”
Ha! Now, anyone from the outside might have thought she was being disrespectful. But she wasn’t – she was right!
You see, the coaching & leadership concepts I’ve learned through the years, I taught my kids: Like being 100% accountable for how we respond.
I smiled & said, “You know what, you’re right. So I’m going to set a new boundary. I need 1 hour to complete this work. After that we can talk.” She agreed & happily walked out.
Moral of the story? No matter how crazy things get at work/in our personal lives (which have merged together for so many as a result of Covid), we have 100% control over how we respond, which means we CAN be 100% accountable.
When we realize & own this reality, it allows us to move from a reactive (victim) state of being to a creative (empowered) action taker.