Did you ever notice we over complicate things…A LOT??! Why is that? I see this so often but was specifically reminded of it yesterday since it was the infamous judgment day of taxes. If you are lucky enough to have a trusted tax adviser and have not thanked him up and down and twice over again, please do so today! Tax codes are like reading a never ending furniture assembly manual written in a foreign language that references you to flip back and forth to not only several different pages all just to follow “Illustration 1” but also makes you pull out other assembly manuals for furniture not even remotely close to what you are assembling at hand; to compare all of those illustrations and directions…again, just to get through “Illustration 1.”
Besides our government making something as basic as taxes so complicated, we too, seem to make everything else just as complicated (maybe we learn it from our government…hhmm). Anyway, think about it. Personal relationships, professional relationships, dinner time, children’s homework, what we wear from day to day, buying a car, buying a house, retirement, and the ultimate…our own self-confidence and SUCCESS!
Although I have many theories as to why we do this with all of these things and so much more; I am going to skip past that to try to bring the assembly manual back to just a few tips and illustration 1.
1. Take a step back for a minute. Many times things are blown out of proportion or over complicated because it is our emotions that take over, not our logical minds.
2. Think about the truth at hand. The truth does not hurt it will truly set you free. If you are wrong and you don’t want to admit those horrific words then try something like: “Well, I appreciate what you are saying and want to take your feelings into account as well, so…” or “I appreciate that and didn’t look at it that way so let’s work together going forward by…” or “Thank you for the idea, I appreciate it.” Being ‘wrong’ is not a bad thing, it is a time to learn and appreciate another point of view. View it as such and you will find being wrong to be so rewarding!
3. Keep it SIMPLE. Remember, the more complicated you make things, the more they will get wound up, the more unnecessary details will get thrown in the mix, and the harder and longer it will take to unravel; making it more difficult to complete steps 1 and 2.
4. CHANGE can be SIMPLE! I know that ‘change,’ like taxes, is a feared word, but that is just it. It is fear which is an emotion and reviewing the steps above, will cause you to avoid it and over complicate whatever it is that you are looking to change.
“Success can be as clear as the water a horse drinks from…the horse just has to drink first.” – Jacque Georgia
