Simon Sinek argues we can't predict the future, so we need an infinite mindset that finds opportunity in surprise instead of seeking control. He shares how COVID disrupted his sleep and triggered mild depression, then outlines what helped: fixing his sleep, asking for help, building relationships, and his rule of never crying alone.
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There are so many lessons that we've learned over the past year and a half to two years that I think prepare us to be ready for the next future. I got a kick out of during the height of COVID the number of pundits who said, during these unpredictable times, I would smile and say, all times are unpredictable. There's never been a time that was predictable, ever.
All that happened was something that we didn't expect happen happened that reminded us that our lives and our work is unpredictable. And to future proof ourselves means being ready for the unpredictable. There's something called an infinite mindset. And those with an infinite mindset embrace surprise. They find opportunity in the unexpected, that when something goes haywire, they go, ooh, what can we do with this? Versus a finite mindset which likes to exert control and, and keep things very, very close and timeframe short. Because they fear the uncertain. They fear anything that's off the plan. And one of the things that we have to do to future proof ourselves is to embrace things that are surprises and embrace the opportunity in uncertainty. The other thing that I think we have to learn on how to future proof ourselves is how to deal with stress and how to deal with trauma. Whether somebody did well during COVID business wise or whether they struggled business wise, all of us, all of us suffered some sort of trauma. And when I. When Covid first showed up, I called a friend of mine who's active duty military, and I asked him during, when you're in combat, what do you do to compartmentalize your emotions so you can stay mission focused? My business blew up right in front of me, and I had to focus on my mission of rebuilding my business. I wanted to know how to control my emotions so. So I could get the work done that I had to get done. And he gave me a very sobering warning. He said, no one can compartmentalize their emotions. He says, we can do it for a short period of time, but everyone will suffer the trauma of combat sometimes many months after we get home. And he said, you will go through it. Maybe not now, but you will go through it. And sure enough, about four or five months in, I started to feel extremely off my game. And I called him up and I said, can I just ask you, what are your symptoms when you go through the trauma of combat? I asked no leading questions. I simply said, what are your symptoms? He said, well, one, I fall out of my sleep pattern for some reason. I go to bed late for no reason, and I don't want to get up in the morning. And I thought to myself, yep. And he said, I become unproductive. And I rationalize it like, oh, you've been working hard. It's okay if you have an unproductive day or two. But then I have another and another and another. And I thought to myself, yep. And he said, I also become extremely antisocial. I don't want to talk to anyone. I definitely don't want to ask for help. And I thought to myself, yup. And I realized I was going through depression. I was afraid to use that word for fear that it sounded like a diagnosis, but it was little D depression. That's exactly what I was going through, which is why things weren't working. And so I asked my friend again, so how do you overcome it? He said, one, you have to force yourself to get back into your sleep pattern. And two, you have to force yourself to ask people for help. And that's exactly what I was doing. And I reached out to friends that I trusted, friends that I loved, people who I knew were dispensers of good advice. And I called them one by one and said, I'm going through this. What can I do? I also reached out to friends who I knew were going through similar things and offered my support for them, because that's one of the things I've learned in my career, which is the best way to solve your problems is to help people who are going through the same thing. And so to understand how to react under extreme stress, to understand and build the relationship so that when you do go through something, you know who to call. My rule during COVID and I called all my A type personality friends and gave them my rule, which is there's no crying alone. And the question I would ask every one of you is, if you start to cry, who are you going to call? Who will you pick up the phone and just say, I need to cry and tell them what's going on? It is much healthier to know that someone will give you a shoulder and be there to support you no matter what you're going through.
