Here's a story about how not to get wound.
Oh boy, have I been tested recently – things happen in 3s right – let’s hope so.
Here’s what’s been going on in my world over the last 10 days.
Incident 1
Glenn’ was the cry from my wife Louise – ‘I think the shampoo has been leaking in the airing cupboard’.
Now then, first of all, there really was no need for Lou to use the words ‘I think’ – it had definitely been leaking.
My 19-year-old daughter Amy uses Purple Shampoo to enhance her blonde hair. What she doesn’t do is put the top back on or stand the bottle upright in the door rack!
We now have a lovely part purple door and the new silver-grey carpet that leads onto the landing, is well, how can I describe it, let’s just say it has some character. This stuff just doesn’t come out.
Incident 2
I’m ironing a shirt, something that clearly, I don’t do enough of as evidently I can’t even seem to set up an ironing board properly.
The ironing board collapses as I’m turning over my Saturday night shirt. The steam iron jumps off its stand, hits the kitchen floor handle side down, and then does a perfect 180 flip, Iron side down into and onto the NEW hall and stairs carpet.
This happens on Lou’s birthday night out and our wedding anniversary. The iron burn’s not too bad and I chose not to let it ruin our night - I laugh in the face of the hall and landing purple burnt carpet.
Stay with me - there is a purpose to these stories - but I need to complete the picture first.
Incident 3
Two days after ‘Purple Shampoo Day’ my mobile is knocked out of my hand and lands on the floor. The screen shatters. It’s OK, it was an accident, and I get the phone repaired at a cost of £165.
I chose not to get wound up - these things happen. I treat myself to a new case at the same time, and it’s now like having a new phone.
This morning, I’m in the bathroom. I place the phone (the same one) on the edge of the bath as I’m cleaning my teeth. I do this every morning listening to some tunes.
Unknow to me, my smart new phone case somehow sucks up a load of water from the edge of the bath. Next came the flashing screen, the strange noise and then darkness. I take the phone to my office for emergency care.
I remove the Memory card and SIM holder. The SIM pings across my office desk and falls down a 1cm gap between my fitted office furniture and the wall. It’s beyond the reach of a coat hanger - trust me I tried.
The phone is rushed off to intensive care and I get my screwdrivers out to start taking the office apart! 1 hour later the SIM is recovered and joins the phone in the purple door airing cupboard.
So, to the point of this story
As part of the training I deliver these days for the Living Leader, we discuss a model called Stimulus Response. It’s about how to create a gap between something that happens – and how we then choose to react to it. It enables you to get a more positive outcome.
Here’s the thing - I could choose to be annoyed by these things, get into a stinking bad mood, growl at the daughter and wife, and beat myself up over not taking more care of the phone.
or
I could choose to write a post about it, have a bit of a laugh at my misfortune, not let it wind me up, and think to myself ‘you know what Glenn – there’s a whole lot of worse things going on out there in today’s world’.
The phone is drying and partially working, the office is back together, and I certainly don’t need to be bothered by what sits behind the door of the smallest room in the house – the purple airing cupboard.
As for the carpet burn, I use stimulus response every time I walk past it 😉.
For the rest of the week I’ll be avoiding mirrors, crossing black cats and walking under ladders.
To find out more about Personal Leadership and how it can help your business, contact Gherkin Associates.
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Helping People and Businesses Thrive
Glenn Smith – Gherkin Associates Ltd
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