A few years back, an acquaintance whom I hadn’t heard from in several months called me. This individual had carved out a good business during his 25 year career, but he seem down, dejected and discourage.



In the course of our conversation he told me that things weren’t going well for him. He was involved in two automobile accidents (within four days of each other) and suffered major back injuries. This has kept him from being able to aggressively pursue new business, and he has lost some major business because he hasn’t been able to stay on top of problems.



He confided that he didn’t really know what to do because it was obvious that he couldn’t keep doing what he was doing. Then he began telling me about his expenses—kid in college, office overhead, mortgage payment, household expenses, etc. After commiserating with him for a few minutes, I realized that he was rehashing his problems to the point that he was in a downward spiral toward a feeling of helplessness. Not knowing exactly what to say to him, I sent up a mental quick prayer for guidance (when all else fails, look up, right?).



“Well, I guess your wife’s left you by now” I said.

“Of course not! She’s been very supportive” he replied indignantly.

“Well, I guess your broke and will have to file for bankruptcy then” I said.

“No, in fact, I made more money the first quarter than I made all of last year, I can make it fine through the middle of next year if I watch my spending” he retorted.

“Well, I guess the injuries have blocked out everything you’ve ever learned about business and you’re not able to recall any of it” I said.

“Don’t be stupid! My mind is as sharp as ever, I just can’t get around without a lot of pain!” He snapped.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve given up going to church, I mean with all that’s happened you to…”



Before I could finish he cut me off, “No, in fact the support of my friends at church and my faith have helped me get this far. I never went to church because I thought God would bless me financial or in any other way for do so” (By now, he was getting irritated.)



After a moment, I told him, “Then it doesn’t seem that things are quite as bad as you are projecting them to be. Your wife is standing by you, you’ve got a ton of experience and business savvy to build on, you’ve got financial resources, you have a caring group of people behind you, and your faith in God is stronger…Maybe you need to think about what you plan to be doing in ten years.”



“You know, you’re right!” He exclaimed, “Things aren’t nearly as bad as I was making them in my mind



A wise person once said, “I can’t always control what happens around me or to me, but I can control how I respond to it.” Attitudes really are more important than facts.