Dear Yogesh,

I admire people who can put things away and sleep peacefully. As for me, I can’t seem to do that at all. It is very hard for me to forget when people get upset with me (like external clients) and this stops me from concentrating on my work.

In addition to this, I often get distracted from the pending list of things that I have on my to-do list. This not only leads to unproductive hours but also saddens me to the core. Usually, external customers can affect my work through their dialogue. How can I handle these situations so that they don’t ruin my day or week?

Please help.

Regards
Vikas

Dear Vikas,

I can understand what you’re trying to say and completely empathize with you. I want you to know that you are not alone. But one thing to note is that you should stop seeing problems as problems and view them as projects.

However, it is in our human nature to worry about things that affect us directly, and this is where we wish - we were different. This, by no means, means that the challenges that are in front of us are easy or simple in any way, but when we complain, that is because something is bothering us. It is like, not the whole world is stressed, but just us who are constantly going through overwhelming situations.

If you want to eliminate the problem, you need to find the root cause of that problem. You must figure out why something is bothering you and act on it. If you realize there’s nothing you can do about it, it is better to accept it as part of the landscape and try finding solutions to it. That’s strategic thinking.

In short, if there is something you can do to simplify, resolve, or eliminate the tension, you must think and work upon reviewing and reflecting on your major commitments and values and the challenges you face. Reflect on questions like:

• What is your purpose on this planet?
• What’s your purpose in general?
• What do terms like morals and values mean to you?
• What’s your idea of a prosperous future?
• What you must do to realize that future?
• What do you need to maintain?
• What projects do you need to define and complete?
• What are your next actions?

Write your answers somewhere so that you can be clear about your thoughts and how you can proceed with the next phase of your problem. Thinking about such questions can help you understand why others act the way they do and how you act upon things.

In the classroom called life, you will learn and understand a lot of things as they come and go. The trick is to take things as they come, contemplate, find ideas, make action plans, act accordingly, and keep learning from your experiences. I hope this answer satisfies you in some way.

Let me know how it worked for you.

Best,

Yogesh Sood

The above is inspired by a blog written by David Allen on August 11, 2021: https://cruciallearning.com/blog/dont-let-it-bring-you-down/