What to do when things are simple is one thing. It’s usually clear. Not something to wrestle with. Might be a to-do. Might be a to-be.
What to do when things are complicated or complex can be a bit more muddy and challenging. More grey areas. More uncertainty. More unknowing. More unpredictability. Sometimes fear. Sometimes insecurity. Sometimes vulnerability. Sometimes stuck.
It was in recent conversation with my friend Charles LaFond that I picked up some sound advice for those complicated and complex times. His voice was clear, rolling off the tongue.
- Be as good of a person as I can be.
- Be as kind of a person as I can be.
- Make good choices for the next 15 minutes.
Be good and kind. I can relate to that. I can remember the parts of me that are good and kind, or that other people see in me as good and kind. Ahh, that’s clear. That’s a good starting point.
Make good choices for the next 15 minutes. It’s nice to feel that all of the future is NOT riding on my shoulders. All time. All people. I know it sounds enormously exaggerated, but it feels like that sometimes, doesn’t it. The mind does that. Fifteen minutes I can handle. It’s relieving and freeing.
I like the feeling of temporary, yet essential reset in Charles’ words. “What to do?” is often the question running in the background for many of us. There are times when that question is noisy beyond comprehension. Even debilitating.
I’m grateful for people like Charles who remind me that I have a possible reset, right in front of me.