Can we please address the ELEPHANT in the room?

I know you are, most likely, expecting me to specifically name said “ELEPHANT” in the room…

I’m not going to!  For one, because my elephant is different than yours.  For two, and most important of all, I don’t “know” your ELEPHANT!  We all have them.  We may not be faced with them everyday….but it’s because we avoid them!  As humans, we don’t want to “go there”.  We don’t want drama.  We don’t want conflict.  But…won’t it eventually happen?  Not the conflict, necessarily, but won’t the mention of our elephants eventually happen?

I don’t know about you, but 9 times out of 10, once it’s finally addressed, it really didn’t go as bad as our mind thought it was going to go!

I have an extremely large family.  My parents are divorced, remarried, and…in a sense…re-re-re-married.   I have a big important job at a big corporation.  I have two children.  I have a diverse group of friends…..I say all this to say, yes I am blessed, but I also have a LOT of ELEPHANTS!  Almost every circle I come in to, every function I attend, every event I host, I have ELEPHANTS!  We stress because we don’t want to face them.  It’s too much.   There’s too much risk.  But is there?  Really?  Once we finally address our elephants, and realize it wasn’t as bad as we pictured, don’t we all sigh in relief that it WASN’T as bad?   So why not address them the moment they present themselves?  Get it over with?

I recently received some advice from a very well known speaker, Doreen Rainey.  She said, “make the call!”.   I know that sounds so small compared to what we are faced with in our unique, specific situations.  I thought the same.  But, after almost a month, those words still pop into my head.  MAKE THE CALL.  Just DO it!  Address it!  Get it over with and move on!!!  You’ll get the same answer that you would have gotten an hour from now, a month from now, a YEAR from now.  It’ll be the same answer.

People think they want to give “them” time to get past certain things, to get over certain things, to change their mindset about certain things……but the majority of the time, it would have been the exact same answer TODAY as it was a year ago!!!  Make the call!  Make the call…

I’ve made a lot of confident, vocal decisions in my professional life in the past few weeks that I would NEVER…EVER!!!….have thought about making 4 years ago.  Decisions that I just knew would have gotten me FIRED!!!!….had I made them 4 years ago!!!  Now…now, I am confident in those decisions.  I’ve addressed the big FAT elephant in the room and it’s done!  NEXT…..

Please….just make the call!  You will feel, about yourself, SO MUCH better, just making the call!  You have your answer, and now you can take the necessary steps that need to take place having had your answer.  “Rip off the bandaid” as they say!  I could go on and on to my friends and family about things that are bothering me.  Their answer, to me, should be, “MAKE THE CALL!!!!”  So that’s the best advice I can give you!

Bye for now,

RR