The Hunt for Happiness—the Perfect Storm
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The fifth step of the Faremouth Method™—Be a Hunter—as been on my mind a lot lately. I believe in these fearful times of COVID-19, social unrest and a possible hurricane on its way, we are all shaking our heads and wondering how we will survive the year 2020 in one piece and learn the valuable lessons along the way that seems to always come with severe challenge, loss, and change.
As a Career Consultant for over 25 years, I am especially hearing about lots of job losses, companies closing, and people filled with fear and trepidation. I believe the “Hunt for Happiness” is always possible and all these events just might be “The Perfect Storm” for all of us to find this journey one that might have many pearls of wisdom attached to it. We will all come out on the other side better than we were when this all started.
I think we all start out on our journey in life with a vision of who we are, who we want to be, and where we want to go. Then life happens, or “really happens,” like the last couple of months, and the vision we had for our future lies before our very eyes in pieces all over the floor at our feet.
My smart father always told me, “You can’t always control what happens to you but you CAN control how you respond to it.” As the great Victor Frankl said so succinctly,
“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
I have tremendous respect for Victor Frankl. He was not only a concentration camp survivor during the Holocaust but also someone who went on to help others find goodness and meaning in life. His “Hunt for Happiness” is a good lesson for all of us about how we can be our best – sometimes even in the midst of everything in our world falling apart. Lately, I think all of us have been in our own “concentrations camps” of sorts and scratching our heads about how we can all stay calm in the midst of this storm and make sense out of what’s happening.
Let’s look at a real-life example of how I worked with an employee recently regarding his concerning possible job loss and how we worked with a few steps of the Faremouth Method™ to try to work with that “space between stimulus and response” and how this helped him hunt for his own bit of happiness during these tough times. Instead of him “reacting” and immediately going into fear and panic mode, this allowed him to be more strategic and calm in the midst of a job change that would have a possible detrimental effect on him, his family, earning potential, etc.,
The conversation went something like this:
“Hi, Mary Ann. This is Jack, my boss just told me things are not looking well for our company. All could turn around and work out, but I want to have a safety net in place just in case they don’t. I’ve been very happy here for the last few years but I believe I need to be proactive to identify what my options may be, should they close the doors. Can you help me?”
“Of course I can. Let’s review a few steps.”
Let’s do an inventory of your options. Aren’t there subsidiary companies of this global conglomerate?
He told me there were, and he had already been talking to the President of a related company that sold a product he had sold in a previous job that might allow him to bring contacts to the company and establish more business for them, etc. They officed in the same building and he had breakfast with this individual many mornings and had been on company-wide fishing trips with him in the past. This move would allow him to stay in the same location, keep his same salary and collaborate with people from his network who he enjoyed dealing with. That was perhaps the easiest and smoothest of transitions and he felt good about pursuing this option.
Stepping out of his comfort zone
I suggested his Plan B might be to make a list of the competitors he had which would not violate any contractual agreements he may have had in place to see where his skills might also be in demand if the Plan A strategy didn’t work out.
He was getting his list together and we decided to visit at the end of the week to discuss this possible marketing tactic and how to investigate the possibilities of this strategy.
Taking the time to do it right
I also suggested he stay very positive and conscientious in his current job. He should remain positive, not harbor any resentment or ill feelings with his current situation. Attitude and mindset were of critical importance during these tough times and, as the boss said, things could turn around. Don’t REACT, and use the space in between stimulus and response in a meaningful way. There is much positivity to come out of taking the time to do it right.
Jack seemed to be very happy that we worked together during these scary times and felt much better about his situation after we visited over the phone. He was able to see there were options in front of him and he needed to be able to have clarity in order to explore those variables and not jump to conclusions before weighing out all of the possibilities.
I think we all can go on our own “Hunt for Happiness” during this Perfect Storm by looking for that “space” in our own lives. When faced with situations that pull for some particular reaction, we can choose to respond instead. If you struggle during these tough times with certain aspects of yourself with your situation, consider finding your “space” to respond, rather than reflexively react by using some or all of the steps in the Faremouth Method™.
Mary Ann Faremouth has been a regular contributor to the USA Daily Post since April of 2020 and to The Price of Business since August of 2019.
Kevin Price, the host of The Price of Business, is known for getting the big interviews — New York Times Best Selling Authors, Multi-Billionaires, National News Personalities, and More. Price is a multi-award winning journalist, author, speaker, columnist, and business news media personality.
The Price of Business is one of the longest running business shows in the country. It is nationally syndicated and distributed by USA Business Radio.