by Terry L. Sumerlin
Just the other day, while filling my gas tank at the local HEB, I noticed they had something new. Right there on the screen where the pay options appeared was a new option. I understand what it means when it asks if you want to pay with cash, credit card or debit. What I didn’t understand was the new “equity” option. So, I pressed the button. When it said, “Please enter mortgage account number,” I understood thoroughly.
I’m pulling your leg just a bit, but not much. Fact is, I never thought I’d see the day our monetary standard would shift from the dollar to the price of a barrel of oil. But, I guess stranger things have happened, and might yet.
The control of these things, though, is pretty much out of your hands and mine. But, there are other things of much greater value over which we do have control. Perhaps we should concern ourselves more with these matters and less with the others.
William Jennings Bryan said, “We spend relatively too much time in the perfecting of the things which man uses and too little time in the perfecting of man himself.” Now I realize that sounds like a rather simplistic approach to money disappearing from our pockets. I also know it sounds rather philosophic. Coming from Bryan it is. For me it makes for good Barber-osophy – which is common sense if it is anything at all. Common sense says we ought to give the most thought and energy to what really matters, and to what we can really do something about.
For instance, we can do something every day about our attitudes. Over that, we have control. Mind you, sometimes Sherry lets me know I don’t have a very firm grip on my attitude but that doesn’t change what could and should happen between our ears.
Far too often, the media, coworkers, customers or family members determine for us how we think and how we view life. If they tended to our other business as often as they tend to this, we might tell them MYOB. When it comes to attitude, however, we generally don’t mind at all. Then we wonder why our attitude is not better.
As far as outward circumstances, I’m inclined to agree with Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.” Life is life and people are people, with a few new wrinkles (for both) in each generation. Yet, regardless of such it is nonetheless true: “The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” (Victor Frankl).
The challenge is to exercise that freedom by cultivating the right thoughts, rather than by letting others do our thinking for us, while bestowing on us their perspectives and attitudes.
Thinking for ourselves! Ah, yes, there’s the rub. Thinking is so inseparably connected to attitude. Not many of us can take the approach of Laurel and Hardy. They had no bad thoughts. But, the fact is, they had no thoughts at all. We, on the other hand, live in the real world of thoughts - good and bad.
What are we doing to control them? To perfect the man himself? To exercise our true human freedom?
May I suggest that we surround ourselves as much as possible with positive, upbeat people? That we read good books and listen to good speakers, in person and on CD? That we spend less time in front of the TV, and more time in worthwhile endeavors? In time, you’ll begin to notice that fewer things make a difference to you, as more things make a positive difference in you.
BARBER-OSOPHY: Take control of the one thing over which you can exercise the most control.
© 2008 American City Business Journals Inc.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUE
by Terry L. Sumerlin
It’s amazing the differences we see in people from one day to the next. Though I certainly don’t consider myself a grump, on some days relationships come more easily for me than on others.
For instance, one morning when I had some serious issues I was trying to sort out I arrived at the fitness center at 6 A.M., and it seemed no one but losers had shown up. When I opened the shop at 7 o’clock, it began a day of customers that seemed annoying. When I got home my relationship with Sherry was strained. It was a day that was filled with trying people.
The next morning, though, was entirely different. I had a good night’s sleep and, so to speak, got up on a different side of the bed with a new perspective on my problems. I stopped at my favorite restaurant and had a very pleasant breakfast, and when I opened the shop I was privileged to serve many very kind, considerate customers.
What had really changed? Perhaps the following story will tell us.
There was once a little boy who was being quite a problem in school. Since he had already finished his work, his teacher called him to her desk and gave him a special assignment.
She took a page that had a map of the world out of a magazine. She tore it in pieces, thus creating a puzzle, and told the boy to take the pieces back to his desk and put the map back together. In no time at all he had completed the project.
The teacher couldn’t believe he’d finished so quickly. When she asked how he had done it, the boy responded, “On the other side of the page is a picture of a man. So, I figured out that when you put the man together, everything is right with the world.”
How often we discover this to be true. Others seem totally unreasonable, ill tempered, inconsiderate, and out to get us when in actuality we are the source of the problem.
Along this line I’ve discovered that on days when I feel great about myself, those are the days I’m especially considerate of Sherry and others. It makes me wonder if being especially thoughtful of others would also make me feel better about self.
BARBER-OSOPHY: When it appears everyone is a problem, perhaps number one has a problem.
(Revised from Terry's first book, Barber-osophy - Shear Success for Your Cutting Edge, Copyright @ 1997 Terry L. Sumerlin)
It’s amazing the differences we see in people from one day to the next. Though I certainly don’t consider myself a grump, on some days relationships come more easily for me than on others.
For instance, one morning when I had some serious issues I was trying to sort out I arrived at the fitness center at 6 A.M., and it seemed no one but losers had shown up. When I opened the shop at 7 o’clock, it began a day of customers that seemed annoying. When I got home my relationship with Sherry was strained. It was a day that was filled with trying people.
The next morning, though, was entirely different. I had a good night’s sleep and, so to speak, got up on a different side of the bed with a new perspective on my problems. I stopped at my favorite restaurant and had a very pleasant breakfast, and when I opened the shop I was privileged to serve many very kind, considerate customers.
What had really changed? Perhaps the following story will tell us.
There was once a little boy who was being quite a problem in school. Since he had already finished his work, his teacher called him to her desk and gave him a special assignment.
She took a page that had a map of the world out of a magazine. She tore it in pieces, thus creating a puzzle, and told the boy to take the pieces back to his desk and put the map back together. In no time at all he had completed the project.
The teacher couldn’t believe he’d finished so quickly. When she asked how he had done it, the boy responded, “On the other side of the page is a picture of a man. So, I figured out that when you put the man together, everything is right with the world.”
How often we discover this to be true. Others seem totally unreasonable, ill tempered, inconsiderate, and out to get us when in actuality we are the source of the problem.
Along this line I’ve discovered that on days when I feel great about myself, those are the days I’m especially considerate of Sherry and others. It makes me wonder if being especially thoughtful of others would also make me feel better about self.
BARBER-OSOPHY: When it appears everyone is a problem, perhaps number one has a problem.
(Revised from Terry's first book, Barber-osophy - Shear Success for Your Cutting Edge, Copyright @ 1997 Terry L. Sumerlin)
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