1 min readOvercome “Why You Can’t”

by Guy Gage | January 18, 2015 | Business

Don’t you just hate it when something comes out of nowhere, like when a client makes a seeming impossible request or you’re faced with a significant market change you didn’t see coming? It really takes all the air out of your balloon. No matter how much you try to avoid it, it stares you in the face, waiting for some immediate response. You didn’t get out of bed expecting that one.  

You don’t like it, but that’s the profession you chose. However, did you know that your first gut reaction will determine how you will handle it? It’s true. Your first thought sets in motion which parts of your brain are activated as you try to form a response.  

As technical person, your first response to a situation is likely to be negative. You think, “This is ridiculous. There’s nothing we can do. How could this be? There’s no way out. We’re stuck.” With this as your first gut reaction, you automatically engage your neural pathways to identify all kinds of reasons why you can’t do anything about it; how it is out of your control; that you shouldn’t have to put up with something so unfair. It’s not right, dammit!  

The problem with this first gut reaction is that it doesn’t get you anywhere. Regardless of how many reasons and excuses you contrive, you’re still left with the situation. What should you do? 

As soon as you are aware that you’re in the “why I can’t” mindset, interrupt yourself and intentionally rephrase the question to “how could I?” From the latest brain scanning technology, it demonstrates that you activate different parts of your brain that are creative and problem solving. You control whether your brain looks for excuses or solutions, depending on whether you’re in the “I can’t” or “how could I?” mindset.  

I expect that this week you’ll have numerous opportunities to test this out. Let me know if your first reaction was negative; if you interrupted your mindset, and if you were better able to deal with the situation. If you let me know, we’ll all learn from each other.

 

Read Related Blogs:

An Effective And Better Life

An Effective And Better Life

Equip Yourself Over the last several weeks, what have you done differently in your work approach and style that have relieved you of the stress-induced demands of your life? I ask you this because each week, we write about best practices of those who are thriving in...

read more
Take Breaks!

Take Breaks!

Breaks How often do you take a break in a day? How frequently? It’s more than just another box to check, along with all the other things you have to do. Breaks affect your health and your performance. The Research William S. Helton, PhD, a professor at George Mason...

read more
Take Control

Take Control

The Reality All professionals encounter stress when life is the busiest and most compressed. As those seasons progress, it is easy to feel less and less in control. A large workload, uncooperative clients, under-performing staff, and looming due dates only exasperate...

read more
Share This

Share This Article!

Who do you know that needs to read this? Send Now!