Some things go to plan and other things don’t
Earlier today I was delivering a Facebook Live in one of my closed communities and I was having problems with the wifi signal.
I’d get 30-40 seconds into the live broadcast and suddenly my phone would tell me that I’d lost my connection. Facebook would automatically pause the live session waiting for my phone to reconnect, but for some reason that refused to happen.
Trying to resolve it and deliver my ‘Whiteboard Wednesday’ as planned, I started another Facebook Live… and got exactly the same outcome.
So what did I do? Did I just keep trying with the same thing wasn’t working over and over again?
That is what Albert Einstein called insanity!
And it is not what I did. What I did instead was to shoot a pre-recorded video and then upload it into the group. And here is the lesson… Sometimes we can achieve our objectives but NOT in the way we planned.
If things don’t go to plan or you are not able to progress in the way you want, it doesn’t mean you have to give up.
If you have a clear outcome you are working towards, then sometimes all you need to do is be open to an alternative way to get there.
A way I often explain this when teaching it from stage is to ask the audience to think about going on a long journey. For example, let’s just say you were travelling from Brighton to Edinburgh.
If you are going to drive the 465 miles from Brighton to Edinburgh, do you think there maybe some delays or diversions during the journey? If we assume the reason you need to be in Edinburgh is important, would you turn around and go home at the first sign of traffic? Would you give up if you got stuck behind a leaner? Would you refuse to follow a diversion if a road was closed?
If you REALLY needed to get to Edinburgh, surely you would find a way. Even if that meant ditching your car and jumping on a train, or driving to Gatwick airport and buying a last minute flight.
If you needed to get to Edinburgh then I suspect you would stay committed to your outcome. You would find a way to get there, even if it took more time or money than you expected.
Obstacles and obstructions
Yet so often in life, people get derailed by the first obstacle, or they a fair way towards their outcome and when something comes up, they give up!
They don’t even necessarily go back to where they were before they started the journey. Sometimes people just give up partway through their journey and stay stuck in that new place.
Don’t Give Up. Don’t Give In
If you’re moving toward an outcome and it’s not working, try and find another way to get there. Don’t quit just because things aren’t going to plan. Find a different way to achieve the outcome. There’s always a way if you’re committed and focused enough. Sometimes you have to try two, three or even more different ways to find the one that works. But I guarantee you it’s there if you look hard enough.
