On a flight, when your plane takes off, the pilot tells all thepassengers to stay in their seats with their seatbelts buckled. In many cases,the pilot will say, “We expect a certain amount of turbulence for the firstpart of the flight, so please stay seated with your seatbelts fastened.” When youstart any new business, you will experience turbulence as well.
Control Your Responses
Strong people expect to experience problems on their journey toward their goalsand destinations. Weak people are surprised and dismayed when things don’t workout the way they expected. They become angry and lash out. They blame otherpeople for their problems. Often they become depressed or irrational. Yoursuccess is largely determined by your ability to respond effectively toproblems as arise. Fortunately, you can learn a number of effective strategiespracticed by successful people to deal with problems.
Problems Go with the Territory
First of all, expect to have problems, disappointments, and temporary failures.Don’t be shocked, surprised, or angry when they occur. Instead, take a deepbreath, relax, and say, “Solving problems is my job; problems are what I do.”Each time you solve a problem, you will become even more capable of solvingeven greater problems. The major reward you get for solving problems is theopportunity to solve even bigger problems.
Think in Terms of Solutions
Superior people are intensely solution oriented. They think about solutions andwhat can be done rather than the problems and who is to blame. They are futureoriented and continually think in terms of the actions that they can takeimmediately to control the damage, minimize the problem, and move ahead. One ofthe best strategies you can use is to practice mental preparation with regardto problems. Resolve in advance that no matter what happens, you will remaincalm and relaxed.
Ask Questions
When you deal with unexpected turbulence in your business life, you can keepyourself calm, clear, and focused by asking questions rather than reacting oroverreacting. First of all, get the facts. What exactly is the problem? How didit occur? Sometimes, the solution to the problem is contained within theproblem itself. The very act of asking questions keeps you calm and in control.Focus on the solution.
Accept Responsibility and Take Charge
Once you have clearly defined the problem (and confirmed that it actually is aproblem) and you have thought about the various actions you can take to solveor minimise it, the next step is either take responsibility for taking actionor assign specific responsibility for taking action to someone else. Thinkalways in terms of actions you can take. Just as a pilot facing unexpectedturbulence keeps both hands on the wheel and his eyes on the gauges, when youexperience problems, you must take command of your situation and ensure thatyou are flying in the right direction.
Action Exercise
You become a superb pilot of your own destiny by dealing effectively with theinevitable storms that occur in your work and personal life. Next time asituation occurs take a deep breath, and then begin to think of solutions tothat situation.
