A Simple Solution to Taking Things Personally and OverreactingWhen you are facing an issue, just ask yourself a simple question before taking any action.
ByStephen Key•
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
My business is almost always on my mind. It's the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning and the last thing I think about before I fall asleep. That's because I care about it deeply. I'm fine with that -- more than fine, actually. I love what I do. I wouldn't have gone into business for myself if I hadn't wanted to be immersed in my work. And early on, I discovered a simple truth: If I worked harder than anyone else, I was bound to get ahead.
毫无疑问在我的脑海里,我的奉献公顷s led me to become successful. But it also used to cause me to frequently overreact. My emotions were so tightly wound, it felt like a challenge not to.
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How could that have happened? I would wonder. Who was responsible? Sometimes I made rash decisions. Ultimately, I realized that getting upset was damaging my professional relationships and keeping my business from moving forward. I was letting every little issue that came my way completely derail me. To put it simply, I was taking things too personally. That's no way to run a business.
To be a more effective leader, I needed to learn how to manage my immediate reactions, not give in to them. I needed to focus on my vision, not petty everyday trials and tribulations. Thankfully, I recently stumbled upon a new way of thinking about things that is helping me gain some much-needed perspective. Like most great ideas, it is simple and straightforward.
These days, when a conflict arises, before I do anything else, I ask myself, "Is this a small problem or a big problem?" The answer is almost always that it is a small problem. When one of my team members comes to me with an issue, I ask him or her the same question.
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There are a lot of benefits to looking at potential sources of tension this way. For one, doing so helps me focus on what matters -- which is not how I feel, but how the issue is going to affect my business. Does it really warrant a whole ordeal? The answer is probably not.
The truth is that most problems are very easily fixed! They are even more quickly fixed when I haven't wasted any time raising my voice to discuss my frustrations. I want my team to feel comfortable being upfront with me, not wary. I don't want to risk letting any problem fester.
Problems that are truly capable of affecting the long-term success of your business are more likely to lurk beneath the surface. You may not even be aware of them. Addressing big problems requires strategy and a lot of thought. If you're letting yourself get worked up about minor conflicts, you'll be less able to notice one taking hold -- and therefore less able to root it out.
Caring less isn't really an option for me. If I'm being frank, I don't even think that being a workaholic is an inherently bad thing. But there are consequences. Make sure that your passion and enthusiasm are being put to good use -- and not simply turning into an obsession about things that don't really matter.
