I’m sure you can relate: deadlines, stressed out co-workers and colleagues, traffic, everyday pressures that can make any sane person lose control of their mind and emotions.
After 28 successful years in a very high-pressure industry, I’ve learned that tranquility is the secret to long-term success.
As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, money is an emotional hot-button for most people. Whether buying a first home, paying off a debt, being in too much debt, having the rent raised forcing an unexpected move, and so on, many of my clients are very emotional while in my office.
But what would happen to my business and client relationships if I got caught up in everyone’s emotions? I wouldn’t be very effective at my job. Indeed, many people have asked me how I manage to stay calm and tranquil. I’ll give you a hint: it isn’t a personality trait.
Tranquility is a practice. You must practice being calm in stressful situations by breathing deeply or having compassion for what the person is going through. Imagine the benefits that a tranquil state of mind would have in your business and in your personal life. Imagine how it would allow you to see more opportunities because you’re not distracted by anger, frustration, and fear. Imagine too, how your tranquility would help make the world happier and more civil.
“I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness; I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.” – Anne Frank