Life chaotic

I talk to busy people all the time, and I hear the same thing over and over again. When this crisis is over it'll calm down, when the wedding is over I will get a break. I just have to get past this reorg at work and life will go back to normal.

Any of this sound familiar?

Let me take you to the other side, friends. LIFE IS CHAOTIC. It is chaotic for me, it is chaotic for you, it is chaotic for the homeless family trying to get their kids to school on time, it is chaotic for celebrities trying to advance their career.

What separates the successful from the unsuccessful really comes to how we deal with the chaos. How do you deal with it now? If you ignore it or slug-through it, is that really helping you or your goals? Are you really achieving what you set out to achieve? When we are honest with ourselves, pushing ourselves past our capacity when we are stressed or feeling out of control, our work product is not that great. Do yourself a favor. Take a deep breath, step back and evaluate the reality. If you are a leader, or working with the public, work is chaotic, people are chaotic, you cannot control everything or everyone in your world. You can control your life, though. Give yourself a break, extend a deadline, forgive the mess at home. Tackle one project, make one phone call, start somewhere because progress counts.

In the chaos, you can come out a star, but don't sacrifice yourself in the process. Take care of yourself, be kind to others and focus on the big picture. I've always enjoyed the saying "lack of planning on your part does not necessitate a crisis on my part". When you are comfortable with your own world of chaos, you can be a calming presence and a leader to others during their times of crisis, which we all need from time to time.

Don't wait for the calm because it doesn't exist out there somewhere. It only exists in you, you create it for yourself. So create a moment to find that calm especially in moments of chaos, because you need it!