~by Haley Lynn Gray~
Most people would not exactly classify my life as sane, sedate, or calm in any way. I constantly have new problems thrown in my general direction. Tonight, my youngest was being defiant about eating his dinner with a fork, and was leaving spaghetti hanging out of his mouth. I was able to convince him to use a fork when I gave him the option of sitting on the floor eating, or use the fork. The next hurdle was when he decided that the fork was OK- as a shovel so he could hang spaghetti out of his mouth. So, we pulled out the camera, and encouraged him to hold on so we could get a picture, to be shown for his 5th grade graduation, and eventual wedding slideshow. Strangely, he decided to start eating in a more proper manner. I could have screamed at him, and gotten defiance. Instead, I chose to approach life creatively.
When things aren’t going right, and people aren’t behaving, the only person you can really control is yourself, and your reaction to them. They may be stomping all over boundaries, and that isn’t right. Somehow you have to influence them to do what you want them to, and control your reaction to them. Sometimes, it requires a thick skin, and creativity. I’ll say it again- you can’t force someone to behave appropriately. You can, however influence them to do the right thing, or do what you’d like for them to do.
When you encounter a problem, stop, and think about it. Sometimes a little bit of creativity, and flexibility will make the problem go away. Tonight, it was getting my son to eat, while using his table manners. Some days, it’s about how to get a customer to buy our service, or get a client placed. Not every situation is the same, and trying to treat the situations as exactly the same will end in failure. Approach life creatively
What about you? What problems have you had to solve creatively?
Meet the Author: Haley Lynn Gray
Haley helps female entrepreneurs create a strategy plan for their businesses – so they can make enough money to spend quality time with their family, pay for their children’s dance lessons, pay bills – and not worry about where the next client is coming from.
Haley is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Leadership Girl. She helps other entrepreneurs build their businesses by sharing the benefits of her business education and experience through Business Coaching.
Whether you want to get a new business off the ground or expand an existing business, Haley can assist you.
Connect with Haley:
- Work with Haley: https://leadershipgirl.com/work-with-haley/
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Leadershipgirl
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haleygray
