Captain Jack hates the wind. Hates it. He doesn’t cower and hide from it. He gets mad. So mad that he spends an inordinate amount of energy barking furiously at it. He can’t see the wind, but he can hear it and figures it’s his mortal enemy (along with the vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, and electronic sounds emanating from mobile phones).
His persistence in expending this energy is limitless. It ends when he has successfully vanquished the wind (in his mind – Mother Nature is the real reason). What he fails to understand is that his energy has accomplished nothing but to wear him out, create chaos, and cause great stress for him and everyone around him.
Do you ever get caught “barking at the wind?”
How many times have you ever caught yourself expending great energy at something which you don’t fully control? It might be something a competitor is doing or saying. It might be a client or partner failing to return your emails or calls. Maybe it is something you control in your business, but instead of looking for a solution, you find yourself fretting or even worse, becoming our own typhoon wreaking havoc on everything and everyone in our path.
We all can be guilty of barking at our own “wind.” Some sort of calamity or issue arises and we spend our time wasting energy that would be better used solving the problem; delegating to someone else more capable to handle it; or finding out its not really a problem at all! This negative energy not only exhausts and depresses us; it exhausts and depresses everyone else around us.
If you are the one barking at the wind, stop. Identify the cause, set counter measures to deal with it, and spend your most valuable resource – your energy – on things that will help your business, career, and family. If you’re in a leadership position and have employees that are expert in barking at the wind, then it’s your responsibility to help them stop.You will be doing them – and everyone around them – a huge favor.
Captain Jack gains nothing positive by barking at the wind. He’s proven to be less than coachable. You are. Make the commitment to invest your energy on solutions, growth, and development and you’ll find yourself barking a different – and more rewarding – tune.
Is barking at the wind an issue in your company? Give me a call and we can discuss how to change that for the better!
Quote of the Week:
“Never make someone a priority when all you are to them is an option.”
~ Maya Angelou
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