Worry Smart

The #10 Rule of Gumption, from my first book, is "Worry smart." Worry about the things you have some control over. Don't get into worrying about everything that you don't have control over, or you'll end up driving yourself crazy.

A friend of mine recently told me that one of her friends, who owns a business, is worried about what the economic times will do to his business. I didn't really get the details, but my friend indicated that the business owner seemed to be concerned about not knowing what lay ahead, and that he might end up losing his business.

You can't go down that path. What the recession (whether we're headed there, or already there) holds is not under our control. What we do to try to retain our customer base, to keep delivering value and quality, to keep us in the forefront of their minds, etc. are things we have some control over. And those things are the things we should spend our energies on, not on worrying about what unknown the recession might hold.

Much easier said than done, I know, but that's what we need to do. Worry smart, and you'll negotiate the twists and turns of the Road to Gumption cautiously, rather than being so worried you just pull over, wait, and do nothing. Keep your eyes on the Road!