Worrying about things? Take my dad's advice
My 82yo dad is a pretty central character in my life and someone I turn to for advice.
Dad hasn’t had the easiest life. He was a toddler in war time, saw his father die in front of him when he was just 14, then had to help his mum turn their house in Bray, Ireland into a B&B to survive (my dad and his elder brother would start work there at 5am, go to school then come home and work again until bed). At 17 he was living in London working in a bar in Shoreditch (using a fake letter that said he was 21) and by 18 he was off at sea, sending every pay back to his mum to help his younger brother get through school. He would spend the next 30 years at sea while also raising a family. His mother died tragically before I was born and he then shipped 4 young kids and his wife off to Australia where they knew absolutely no one. Since his 50s he’s suffered multiple heart attacks, survived cancer, had an aneurism, suffered a few strokes and now finds it difficult to walk.
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Despite all of this he remains one of the most optimistic people I’ve ever met. When I’ve asked my dad why he‘s eternally positive about life his response has always been: “What’s the alternative? Worry about things you can’t control?”
When running a small biz, worry comes with the territory, but it doesn’t have to overwhelm or paralyze us. I’ve had clients who haven’t sent off an email for months - even though they know it would help move their biz forward - out of worry about what the response *might* be. I’ve had students who haven’t made a start on their biz ideas (even as a side thing to start with) worrying about what will happen when it “gets too big for me to handle”. As I tell them, it won’t get anywhere if you don’t make a start.
In my own biz, I’ve worried about all sorts of things but as the brilliant singer Mavis Staples (one of my all-time faves) says:
Sometimes I get so worried
Then I don’t know what to do
But all the things I worry about
Very few of them ever come true
What are you worried about right now in biz?
Get a piece of paper and write all that sh!t down. Then, take a few minutes to seriously ponder each item on your list. Could taking action alleviate the worry? What’s stopping you? Is the item really worth worrying about? Will it matter 5 years from now? What’s the best that could happen if you changed your mindset about each item?
My dad has had an insane number of health issues over the past three decades. And, as woo woo as it may sound, I often think part of the reason he’s survived them all is because of the way he thinks about life. He’s determined to see the positive in events, people and the day to day living.
Maybe if we could all do that too, even just a little more, business - and life - would host far fewer worries.
Instead of worrying, consider what’s the best that could happen?