| Dear John, Something is going to happen to you. How will you handle it? How will you prepare for it in advance? “It’s not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life; It is how you handle what happens to you.” Zig Ziglar Here is a simple game plan you can reflect on that will help you in the moment when something or someone “happens” to you: Create a mental model and practice it daily. A mental model is simply a 60 second reflection on how you will handle a scenario. Each morning take 60 seconds imagining a scenario when something or someone happens to you. See yourself following these steps: Pause and take a breath before you respond - choose to be thoughtful. Acknowledge to yourself that you have no control over the external, only the internal which is how you respond. If it is a personal attack or an elevated emotional response from someone else then tell yourself it is not about you - but them. Their baggage is amplifying the issue. See yourself responding in kindness because you feel sorry for them since it is not about you. Acknowledge their concern and follow that with a question. For example, “I see this is concerning you. Can I ask you a couple of questions so that I can understand better how to help?” One last thought. I believe that heart-centered coaching skills are the #1 skills you can develop in yourself to thrive in disruptive times. When you really start to think like a coach, ask the right questions, and have the right motives, then you will truly start to understand those you do life and business with. If you want to learn more about developing coaching skills, then I encourage you to check out our upcoming Ziglar Coach Summit. Choose To Win! Tom | 