A Week After the Year Before
It's been a week since last year and I've noticed a huge increase in the herds at the gym, on the running trail and in the heath food/supplement aisles of my favorite grocery stores. It happens every year, lots of people with great intentions reflect on the year before and resolve to do better in the New Year! The problem is that in theory, resolutions are an excellent idea but the execution is often vague, non-existent or lost in that haze of revelry from the night before! The New Year arrives and they are still craving a midnight snack or a whole bag of deliciously fattening treats, jonesing for a cigarette, hanging on to an old resentment or any number of issues. People are lost in an ambiguous idea of some form of self-improvement and then they just…give…up. I've done the same thing in the past and trust me on the cigarette thing! I quit smoking in 1986 and recall a day when I dialed up a number of friends and proceeded to start an argument with everyone who happened to answer the phone. I was not pleasant to be with for a while but in the end, it was my motivation that helped me quit. I decided that I enjoyed kissing my future wife way more than my craving for nicotine.
This year I decided to keep it simple and find some real motivation and help. My first action, after many years, was to write a business plan and HOLY MACKEREL, do y’all realize how much it costs just to walk out the door in the morning? Second and more importantly, I decided to approach the more difficult aspect of my business with more humor. After all, buying or selling a home can be one of the most emotional events a person can experience. As most of us know this can result in all sorts of behavior, including frustration and even hostility. Not just from clients but just about anyone involved in the business side too! Apparently, from the quote below, our humor quotient seems to drop with age so anything that might help is always a good thing!
"The average 4 year old laughs 300 times a day - The average 40 year old laughs 4 times a day"
In the past I have been urged to, when confronting an angry or frustrated person, imagine them in some compromising situation while still focusing on the issue at hand. It is a good tool to diffuse the situation with out engaging n the same level.I recently discovered this video by local Austin band, Churchwood, for their song "Devil in Me" and enjoyed the zaniness and let it all hang out attitude of the main character. The song was, for me, not a negative concept but more along the lines of the saying “Other peoples opinions are none of my business”. The idea being that you can enjoy yourself within reason without any fear of judgment. It occurred to me that in some situations, I could take this character along with me to help!
I like this man's care free attitude as he gets out there and adds hs own particular flair and manages to bust some interesting moves! As part of my New Year resolution to laugh more in the face of hostility, I m going to channel this guy when any of my business contacts, clients, agents, WHOMEVER I am dealing with at the time decide to get overly emotional, serious or just plain obnoxious! On the other hand, I may just have to imagine the cranky person as our dancing friend, hopefully without...bursting out laughing! Please feel free to use this video in your own day-to-day adventures and good luck with your own resolutions! We are truly living the good life in Ausin Texas and I hope you are too!
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