Problem or Fact of Life?

by Aubrey Patterson

Do you find yourself frustrated by news that blindsides you and feels unfair? 

Of course you do. We all do. 

There is a helpful mindset shift that occurs when we move from dwelling on a problem to accepting a fact of life. 

There isn’t enough budget …

We lost half of our team …

Yuck. But are these actual problems or facts of life? 

Dwelling on problems that are beyond our control is an energy vampire.

The clock doesn’t stop ticking and the kids and staff don’t stop needing us, no matter how many mental calories we burn in frustration. 

Green Eggs and Ham

Dr. Suess wrote The Cat in the Hat using only 256 different words. His editor responded by betting him he couldn’t write a book with only 50 words.

The result?

Green Eggs and Ham. 

Often, the limits we face can spark creativity once we accept them as facts of life. 

By the way, Dr. Suess’s editor never paid up on the bet.  

It's always worth noting that one negative response doesn't make the achievement any less remarkable.

Oh, the 50 words!?

Are you like us and need to know those 50 words?

Here they are in alphabetical order: a, am, and, anywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, good, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam, say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you.