Owning a business is hard.
The highs are high, and the lows can be low.
I'm optimistic by nature, and fortunately don't suffer from any conditions that would make life harder, but even being "typical" can have high days and low days.
Today started low. Several frustrations landed at the same time, some things aren't moving as fast as I'd want. Who knows, maybe I didn't sleep well. (Using humor to deflect.)
Posting personal thoughts isn't my go-to. It seems too self-involved. But I guess there are two reasons to share today.
First, it's important. It's too easy to push on and not acknowledge the difficult days. The risk, of course, is they start happening more frequently.
Second, I was reminded of something that helped, and that's worth sharing.
Recognizing Problem-Focus Thinking
A friend recently suggested a book, Relentless Solution Focus.
I'm slow at reading, and I rarely prioritize it over other work, so it's timely that I did read this. A point in the book stood out and helped today.
The authors talk about one of the key challenges: recognizing the patterns of behavior that lead to what they call "problem-focus thinking." They talk about the body helping in this recognition. Negative thought, avoiding (or confrontational) behavior, and increased heart rate are all indicators.
These physical conditions can be triggers to question your thinking.
This isn't the perfect analogy, but it did give me the opportunity to stop and think about my thinking this morning. An interrupt that helped me think about the situation and actively decide on the next step, rather than pushing on.
This isn't a self-help post. It's not my area of expertise. But the day did get better.
I could argue it would have done anyway, or who cares if you have a bad day every so often, but being a person typically in charge, this activity of taking an active role in the situation definitely felt better.
Today, I hope this helps someone think about their thinking, even for those of us who are fine most of the time. And the book is worth reading.
