🌱 How you’re BEING (The Customer Support Test)

How you show up when things don’t go your way

Let’s be real.

Things rarely go how we think they will.

And when they don’t… we get a choice between:

  1. This stinks 

  2. Welp, not how I thought it would go, but let’s keep going!

Here’s how to choose the second one. 

Here’s your 3 insights in 3 minutes

šŸ¤” Quote

I’m convinced this single quote is the key to everything you want in life.

ā€œIt's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.ā€

― Epictetus

😔 The Customer Support Test

A few hours before my dentist appointment this week I got a message saying my dental insurance wasn’t activated. (How fun!)

So I called the number on the back of the insurance card and started talking to customer service. 

This was in between meetings on a jam packed day. 

Andddd I wasn’t getting the outcome I wanted with this rep.

However… I stayed pleasant. Even playful with her. (her name was Angel)

Sure I could’ve gotten frustrated with Angel. 

But it wasn’t her fault. 

Even if it WAS her fault… me getting frustrated would be a complete waste of energy. 

So instead I only gave love and playfulness. I then got the dental stuff sorted out shortly after.

It seem to resonate with her because later that afternoon I received this text:

This is emotional regulation in the wild. It’s a superpower. A younger me (aka 6 months ago) would’ve thought I was too important to waste my time and gotten super frustrated with all this. 

Like anything else, we can practice this. Feel the emotion… and then make a different choice.

And use any circumstance as a new opportunity to practice.

Are you just reacting based on emotions? Or responding based on a choice aligned to your values? 

It's not what happens to you. It's how you react.

🧠 Satisficer 

This book rewired my brain.

From maximizer to → satisficer.

I used to think "satisficer" meant settling (yuck!).

It doesn't.

A satisficer still has a standard of quality. They make a quick, informed decision and move on.

A maximizer wastes all their energy finding what's optimal and inevitably runs out of steam through overanalysis.

While satisficers get the magical M word... Momentum.

My goal? Maximize the number of satisficers out there.

Though I'm satisfied with this newsletter for now and moving on. :)

Salud,
Mitchell

Ps. The book is The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz.