I keep finding that the world isn’t as I want it to be. Do you have that experience?

Sometimes, that discovery results in frustration. For example, a team member blows off a deadline because they “weren’t feeling it.”

Other times, it results in rage. When I’m in the 3rd hour of my conversation with my telecom company, and they can’t get my bill straight, I start to see red!

I also get anxious about the economy and its impact on my business–especially during times of political uncertainty.

Where are you in this picture?

Before I go on, stop and take stock. Where are you feeling angst? What issue or circumstance is lying just below the surface that, if I scratched, would unleash a torrent of complaints and disaffection?

There’s something there, right? What is it?

Notice how it affects you when you think about that? When you feel those complaints and disaffected emotions, how does it impact your body? Your mood? Your thinking?

We’re all in this together.

Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality. ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

When we experience someone behaving in a way that disappoints us, lets us down, insults us, or offends us, we are right to be upset.

As my Jr High Algebra teacher used to say, “It’s hard to fly like an eagle when you’re surrounded by turkeys.” When one person acts in a low-functioning way, it brings us all down. One employee who can’t make it to a meeting on time impacts the whole group. The person who can’t be bothered to look up from their phone to acknowledge my existence is devaluing us all.

We don’t have to stay there…

On my bad days, that “upset” can get me down. “If they aren’t going to show up on time, why should I?” Assuming no one else cares, I resent all the hard work I do to keep this place running… I can lose sleep over things and people I have no control over.

There’s another choice.

If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him…We need not wait to see what others do. ~ Gandhi

I could create a more powerful agreement with my team member and help them understand the impact of missing deadlines.

I can see the customer service agent as a human being doing their best and try to get on the same side of the table with them. “This must be frustrating for you when the systems you work with are so difficult to navigate. How can I help you to resolve this?” I might still be on the phone for three hours, but the chances of resolving the issue might improve if I didn’t treat them like an enemy.

Knowing that living in anxiety diminishes my brain’s creativity and executive function, I could reframe my challenge to ask, “How could my business thrive through uncertain economic times?” Or better yet, “What do I need to feel peace through these uncertain times?”

These are times when leaders can make their most significant impact.

How could I lead more powerfully in every situation I’m a part of? Could THAT change the world?