I made an incredible blunder the other day. I let the media and other people’s perception of our economy get me down. Boy – I got REALLY nervous. Scared that I was losing clients, businesses were shuttering left and right, thousands laid off, dogs and cats falling from the sky — real apocalyptic thinking. And this is from the guy that has “decided not to participate in this recession”!

Have you been there lately? So I immediately sat down and came up with these three tips to learn from my mistake:

• Don’t drink the Kool-Aid. The news is sensationalized and fear sells. Things are rarely as good as they seem and things are rarely as bad as they seem.
• Negative thinking will not move you forward. Look for the positive, find solutions, and don’t dwell on the past or fear the future. Live in the present.
• Embrace your fear. When people get scared, they get smart and they take action. Re-vision your career — if things are changing, you change. Don’t get caught in ‘old-think’ — interact with people and clearly see where the wind is blowing — then act swiftly.

Tagged as: Coaching, Mistake