This Morning’s Question

Wrestling with a bunch of consternating business problems, I asked my husband this morning, “What would a rational person do in this situation?”  It came out as a totally honest question.

He looked at me, “Are you sure you want to rely on my instincts?”  He waited a minute for my reaction, “But that’s probably better than sticking with yours.”

Thanks, hubby.

I’ve had my own business for 18 years.  It’s a consulting practice with nonprofits and local government.  The work is interesting, clients are varied, there are a lot of challenges, and the income has been both decent and steady.  It’s an achievement to be in business as a solo consultant for this long and make a good living.  I’m pretty proud of it.

99% of my business has been run completely on my instincts.  Total gut.  Love a situation, work my tail off.  Hate a situation, I leave. And so, as you can imagine, there is the wreckage of a lot of burned bridges in my rear view mirror.

But just because I’m 64 and have been working in my field for 40 years doesn’t mean I can’t improve and maybe learn how to do business in a less instinctual way. Hence, the question: “What would a rational person do in this situation?”

Some people get ulcers from deep-sixing their emotions and tolerating bad situations.  That’s never been my problem.  But I do think it might be time for me to be a little less nuts, more impervious to annoyance, and more stoic.

Maybe, maybe not.  Depends on what my gut tells me.