A Secret to Getting Stress Off Your Mind
A reframe to help provide perspective
“Never let the things you want make you forget the things you have.” - Sanchita Pandey
Recently saw this tweet and it made me think of something not often talked about in sales: being grateful.
Hard to do when you’re in the trenches chasing deals and grinding for quota, right?
Trust me, I’m right there with you.
It made me remember meeting someone that I had met while traveling which massively shifted my perspective on “problems” in my own life. Quite literally making me appreciate the things I have instead of always thinking about the things I want.
That “travel” was a cruise ha. I’m laughing as I write this because it was the first time I was ever able to afford a vacation. I bought it for both me and my girlfriend at the time.
My early upbringing was humble. It wasn’t until my mid teens that my father was able to afford moving our family to a “better” neighborhood. Despite this, vacations or additional luxuries were never in the budget.
I share this so you can get a glimpse into who I am. This either might not seem like a big deal, but at the time, it was. Alternatively, it might seem like I’m bragging, but I was just genuinely proud of myself. Proud I was able to do something nice for someone I cared about, on my own.
I’m sure you have a moment like this in your life or are can think of one you’re aspiring for.
Anyway, during the vacation, we’d have a nice dinner every night. Dress to the nine’s, get drunk, eat a ton of food. Good times.
We had the same waiter every night. For the life of me, I can’t remember his name. However, I do remember his story:
He had a family which he’d only see 3 - 4 months out of the year. The rest of the year was out at sea, working to provide for his family.
I heard this and instinctively felt sorry.
He didn’t though.
He was HAPPY that he was PROVIDING for his family. Happy because he had the OPPORTUNITY to do it.
Mindset.
It’s stressful to know that not hitting your number can be the difference between being employed and looking for a new job. The angst of waiting for a deal to come through. Overthinking each word in an email. Biting your nails or tapping your pen to ease the anxiety.
The next time you’re there, think about this:
My friend owns an SMB business which provides installations services of home equipment. He’s doing well. We recently caught up he mentioned to me what sounded like a pretty tough week.
In the past seven days:
Found out a key hire was leaving the company
One of his employees was hospitalized
Another employee got in a car accident and he was being sued
His response?
“I’m lucky to have these problems.”
It’s easy to get caught up in the bubble. Take a step back. We’re slingin’ software for a living and it’s a good one at that.
Amidst the stress and anxiety of sales, it’s worth appreciating you have the opportunity to do it. Opportunity to better yourself and improve. Of all the problems one could have, we’re lucky it’s those and not others.
There’s also nothing wrong with aspiring for more. I do. It’s simply …
Perspective.
Have a great week and see you next Tuesday.
-Andrew K
PS - If you google Sanchita Pandey, like I did after writing this … not my style lol. Not a knock either, to each their own.
But it’s a hell of a quote so have to give credit where credit’s due.