Six strategies on how to adjust your Situation to Reality, Improving your Effectiveness
I’m sure most, if not all, of you reading this have traveled on public transportation at some point in your life. When you travel on a bus, train, or airplane, your most valuable asset, time, is at the provider’s whim.
On the flight from Seattle to Chicago, I sat next to a former EMT who now manages a large financial institution’s health and safety program.
We hadn’t spoken much until we landed in Chicago. We had a tight connections and were focused on our next flights.
I don’t know what happened at O’Hare, but we sat on the runway for over 70 minutes. As we both discussed the challenges of air travel, he asked me why I was in Seattle. I told him I spoke at the 1st Responder Conference in Bellingham, Washington.
He asked me what I spoke about to first responders and my key message.
I told him I am always honored to be with our first responders and military heroes. This conference is committed to the public safety workforce’s emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being.
Many participants had experienced a traumatic life experience and came together to learn how to bounce back for themselves and their families.
Their jobs are based on uncertainty. Every time they wear a uniform, they put themselves in a situation with many potential outcomes.
I told him that I spoke about my uncertainty as US Airways 1549 crashed into the Hudson River and the subsequent teamwork it took to survive. As I always emphasize, I believe the real heroes of that day were the first responders.
As I transitioned from sharing a little of my background story with him about embracing uncertainty, I shared a story about a Sheriff who approached me and our discussion.
The Sheriff’s questions were different from the typical questions I get after I speak, which made me dig a little deeper to share my thoughts and some strategies.
He asked me about how I adjusted to the situation I was in on January 15, 2009, and the possibility of a potentially tragic outcome while I was going through it.
I have to admit, I had never been asked that question.
It’s a great question because the strategies I used that day were the same ones I had used during my sales career and am currently using as I build a business and swim with our Navy SEAL and Special Ops heroes.
The first thing I shared was that if I had a chance to survive, I had to MANAGE MY EMOTIONS, which is another way to say I had to manage my state of mind. I learned how to do this during my time with Tony Robbins. As I shared in my talk, when people panic, they start to do irrational things. You want to be one of the people who work the problem unemotionally.
Next, I shared that you must have a PERSONAL GAME PLAN. I shared the story about how process saves lives and that you need to have a process for many areas of your life. Life is moving at supersonic speed now, which means uncertainty is happening quickly. Developing a habit of a process or game plan gives you some discipline in times of uncertainty.
One of the strategies I shared in my talk is about the REAL AI. Not AI, artificial intelligence, but AUTHENTIC INTERACTIONS. When you focus on building the Real AI, you can adapt as you will get candid feedback on your approach, good or bad, and you can adjust quickly.
Another item I discussed with him was the Sheriff’s personal development plan. The Sheriff told me he didn’t have a plan. I asked him if he read books, listened to podcasts, etc. He said he didn’t. I encouraged him to start practicing ACTIVE LEARNING consistently as he will learn many strategies for adjusting during and after facing adversity.
As we finished our talk, I shared with the Sheriff one of the most important things I learned early in my career that helped me adjust on the fly and on and after January 15, 2009. We discussed what Tony Robbins calls the six human needs, specifically having a GROWTH MINDSET. When you are dealing with other people, I have found when you help others get what they want and grow, you grow tenfold. I asked him if he participated in my closed-eye process during my talk. He said he did. I asked him what did he feel.
He said, with an immense feeling of GRATITUDE.
I shared with him that gratitude is the secret sauce to growth. When you thank something bigger than yourself, you will begin to lose sight of the things you lack in your life ( which limit you) and begin your journey of growth to a limitless life.
Sometimes, you sit on a runway with a stranger who just may have needed to hear something to help him during a time of stress or, a better way to say it, uncertainty.
By the way, I did catch my flight home to Charlotte, as I had my game plan ready if I could not adjust to the reality of missing my flight. When I got to the gate, the gate agent asked me if I was the executive platinum first-class flyer on this flight, as they held the flight for that person and another flyer.
That executive platinum flyer was me.
Miracles happen if you manage your emotions, have a game plan, treat people respectfully, and show gratitude.
Remember, when you are in a challenging situation and need to adjust to the reality of the moment, incorporate one or all of the six strategies to improve your effectiveness and give yourself a better chance to win!
- Manage your emotions
- Have a personal game plan
- Build your REAL AI
- Be an active learner
- Adopt a growth mindset
- Give thanks every day to experience gratitude
When you do this, you will start to embrace uncertainty, possibilities arrive, opportunities are presented to you and you will transform your life.
And you and no one else will start to create your own flight plan for your future!