In A Funk?

Copyright: michaeljung / 123RF Stock Photo

I am in a funk.  I am a bit sick of dealing with people, and it's funny because that's what I do for a living.  I literally just spent a week on vacation and I came back to the same old crap.  Customers who are complaining that their results are not what they expected, and people being overly critical of the language and scope of some of my presentations.  And I'm supposed to turn it around and provide them with some pearls of wisdom to motivate them, to get them back on track, when I know their problems are their own and not mine.  What I'd like to tell them is "piss off!"

But I can't do that, unless I want to go broke.

So what do we do when confronted with a funk?

I thought about this long and hard, because that's what you do when you're in funk, you think about how to get out of it, and then I realized it's my preconceived notions of how these interactions will turn out, that is getting in the way.  I need to take a big eraser and wipe clean this blackboard of inevitability that is written in my head.  And here's brief outline of exactly how you can do the same.

Visualize The Best Outcome(s): - A lot of people might think your setting yourself up for failure if you visualize the best, but what's the alternative.  Worrying about the worst possible outcome and curling up in a little ball on the floor?  What's going to inspire you to move forward?

Visualize The Worst Outcome(s) - Wait a second? What? That's right. You should know what you're getting yourself into, and understand what is the worst outcome for your situation.  Here's a tip; if the worst possible outcome involves death or prison...your choice should be pretty easy.  Don't do it!

Risks versus Rewards : If the rewards outweigh the risk then your decision is easy. Move forward.  If the risks outweigh the rewards than don't.  It's a pretty simple guide to getting out of a funk.

Note this simple example:  I had a client who was a pain in the ass. Therefore, I considered the risk in telling them they're a pain in the ass, and giving in to their often absurd requests.  Well, I weighed the options and the best possible outcome in keeping them on as a customer was that they would somehow stop being abusive to my staff and myself.  However, I could see by the level of Emotional Intelligence, or rather lack thereof, that this wasn't going to be a viable option for my team. Subsequently, I advised them to seek other avenues to train their staff.  I simply stated that we had other customers and I couldn't allocate my entire team to just their account.  It wasn't possible.  Naturally, they didn't understand, but it worked out much better for us in the long run. 

This is a short and sweet example but always consider the outcomes, the risks, and the rewards.  But the worst thing you can do is nothing.

SFTD