“Contentment is containment. Discontent creates change.” – Jed McKenna
Remember our golden rule:
Nature doesn’t make mistakes.
Well, I was reminded of this one in a not-so-pleasant way earlier this morning.
Lessons ensued, so I’ll pass them on to you now 🙂
Here’s what happened:
I was sorting through some financial tasks, including re-organizing a large line of debt that a former business partner opened up several years ago.
The debt was used for a project that I (foolishly) didn’t oversee, and ended up draining hundreds of thousands of dollars from the business — while generating no additional revenue.
That partner was kicked out years ago, but part of the debt still remains.
And every time I look at it, make payments on it, or wake up in the middle of the night thinking about it, a familiar cocktail of anger, frustration, and anxiety flows through my system.
Now, to be fair:
I was lucky to have a lot of business success very early in my career, and I am absurdly grateful for the life that I live.
And, this sort of bloody-nosed experience is not only common along the entrepreneurial journey, it’s practically a rite of passage.
But still, that particular feeling…
…Of continuing to pay for a former partner’s mistakes, coupled with the shame of allowing those mistakes to happen, coupled with the thought of what those funds could be used for instead of debt payments (ie. The Maui Retreat)…
…Well, that’s not an emotional flavour that goes down easy.
And here’s where the lesson begins:
When that familiar sting hit my system this morning, I felt the very natural, very human urge to ignore it.
Push it down and press on.
But nature doesn’t make mistakes.
And what if that unpleasant emotional energy isn’t just an unwelcome guest, but a source of fuel that could be put to good use?
What if that frustration could be transformed into creative energy to write this email?
What if that anger could be transformed into motivation to work harder and more intelligently on projects that will make up for the lost revenue?
What if that anxiety could be transformed into financial discipline to allocate more resources towards paying down the debt faster?
And what if this entire fiasco was not just an unfortunate mistake, but a pre-requisite training ground that is developing the deeper emotional and entrepreneurial skills that will be needed at the next level?
After all:
Nature doesn’t make mistakes.
And emotions are just energy (e-motion = energy in motion).
So you may just find that your most painful emotions and most crippling “mistakes” contain the most transformative power.
If you choose to use it, of course.
- T