Life happens to everyone

Business philosopher Jim Rohn, one of my favorite speakers, says that what happens in life happens to all of us. It's what you do with what happens to you that matters. On the upside, that means that when you think things couldn't get worse, the person you go to for advice will likely have faced something similar, or will know someone who has.

Marnette Falley

On the downside, I've found that really, I never have anything to complain about. When I go looking I pretty easily find someone who has got it worse. That usually helps me retain some sense of perspective, although it's still hard to hold everything together.

For example, a few years ago my dad was diagnosed with cancer. I'm happy to say that he's doing well today. But he did months of debilitating radiation and chemotherapy treatments, and I worried about him. A lot.

I remember having days when I didn't know how I managed to work. I was here. I was working. I read articles and talked about art ideas. Our team was still creating magazines. But I really can't tell you how I was doing it.

Distracted really doesn't express that period in my life accurately. It was more like, "Sorry, my brain was abducted there. Could you back up and tell me who you are? Or who I am, even?"

As Dr. W. Bradford Swift suggests, I had to confess to the people I work with closely that I was feeling troubled. (His article "Personal Problems? Get the Monkey Off Your Back".) I'm sure they could tell something was up anyway. And I didn't want them worrying about what it was.

As you might guess, everyone was extremely supportive. And I got used to the worry, so it became a dull background noise instead of a screaming-in-my-head-every-minute issue. As we celebrated the steps on my dad's road to recovery, my normal focus returned.

Now that experience gives me real empathy when other people on our team have challenges at home that rock their world. I figure we're all people; life happens.

Still, at least in our office, everyone remains committed to getting the job done. We support each other. No one takes advantage of that support and understanding. And I think that makes for a pretty wonderful work environment. I hope you can help make yours just as good.