BernieBorges.com Blog: Social Media and Web Marketing

How Do You Handle Unexpected Curveballs?

After a terrific first week in the new year, I started the second week with a big to-do list and ambitious plans and a very positive attitude. On Monday of the second week, I got a surprise I didn’t expect or want.  I got the flu and my plans for the second week went out the window.

The first thing I had to do was take steps to deal with the flu. I went to a clinic to get the requisite prescription to begin the recovery process. That aside, I had to deal with the setback in my workload.

Acceptance

I started by accepting the fact I was not going to accomplish nearly what I had planned for the week. I looked at what I could and couldn’t do. For nearly three days I could hardly talk, so I had to avoid conference calls. But, I could work online so I spent time in email communication, in LinkedIn Groups and, to the extent my energy permitted, in online connections and content creation.

Part of “acceptance” is acknowledging the fact I was not going to accomplish as much as I would normally accomplish due to my circumstances.

I also rearranged my to-do list based on what I could and couldn’t do.

Maintain Perspective

A big part of what motivated me to get through this curveball is perspective. I look at how my friend and hero, Rich Hayes, has bravely battled cancer for more than a year now.  My flu pales in comparison to Rich’s battle. He is cancer free now! His journey has been an inspiration to me and many others.

I didn’t want the flu, but it’s a minor setback for a week or two of my life. I can deal with it and I am.

Maybe you’ve had some setbacks recently? How do you handle them? I urge you to turn to your faith, your friends, your family and your network to guide you in wisdom, encouragement and comradery. Whether your setback is big or small, make the alternate plans you need to make to get done what you can get done. Don’t try to do more than you can do. Maintain perspective for a healthy dose of reality in how to deal with your setback.

Life is full of setbacks. How we deal with them shows the world who we are.

Why Am I Writing About This?

I’m not a psychologist. I’m a marketing professional with a big to-do list. You are also a professional with a big to-do list. I know that the experience I’ve had with this unexpected, but relatively minor curveball is common. I didn’t let it get me down. I want to share with you some thoughts for you to consider when your to-do list gets hit with an unexpected curveball.

These thoughts are part of the Triathlete mindset, which I teach in my Social Networking for Job Seekers video training. For more on this, see what people are saying about it.

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