Best Advice: 95% of Your
Pain
Is
Caused By Your Own
Stupidity
Do you ever get caught in a downward spiral? Situations
at work (or at home) where someone or something causes problems that impact
you?
Then you need the 95% Rule, the
best advice I got from a friend and mentor, Carl Wright, CPA.
Carl Wright was (and is) one of those bigger-than-life
personalities not often found in the CPA Profession. He was the founder and CEO
of a leading recruiting firm in Maryland at the time. I met Carl by
volunteering for a committee at the Maryland Association of CPAs (MACPA) when I
first passed the CPA exam years ago. He was a recruiter and at that time one of
the volunteer leaders of the MACPA. He was a mentor to me, as were many other
leaders in the Association that I was fortunate to meet.
We were talking about an issue happening in a
committee — you know, the types of conflicts that arise when different
personalities have different opinions, and tempers start to flare. As I was
recounting this, he stopped me and said, "Tommy, remember the 95%
Rule."
I immediately asked him, "What's the 95%
Rule?"
He said, "It is a simple
rule that says 95% of your pain and troubles are caused by your own
stupidity." It
made me pause and think. He said once you figure out that you are the cause of
your own "pain," it frees you up to creatively solve whatever the
issues are.
It was somewhat of an epiphany, an "aha"
moment, that said: Keep calm and think about what is happening rather than
reacting or overreacting and making things worse.
I soon came to the conclusion that the situation was
mostly caused, or at least escalated, by me. Once I realized that, I calmed
down and was able to think creatively and address the issues in a positive way.
By calming down, it de-escalated the situation, and we were able to work
through the issues.
Turns out that there is brain science behind Carl's
simple 95% rule. Apparently when you are confronted or challenged, your brain
clicks on its primitive response system (fight or flight) and blood flow leaves
the brain and moves to large muscle groups, directed by adrenaline. Your field
of vision narrows to focus on the perceived threats and your breathing gets
faster all in an attempt to protect you.
That means you are now in the least likely position to
develop creative solutions and even your eyes cannot see the "bigger
picture" that may be in front of you. Not to mention that your increased
emotional state will also be felt by anyone around you, possibly escalating
their emotions. Once you kick in the 95% rule and acknowledge your contribution
to the situation, you can regain control and reset yourself to be able to deal
with the issues in a much better way.
I use this rule often. Every time I face a situation
that may provoke anxiety or even anger, I can almost always find how something
I did, or did not do, contributed to the situation. Once I acknowledge it, I
instantly calm down and shift into problem-solving mode. Instead of blaming
others, I invite them to help solve the problem or leverage the newfound
opportunity, and the situation almost always improves.
I bet Carl has no idea how profound that day he first
told me his rule has had on my growth. So next time things are going in the
wrong direction, remember the 95% rule.
And thanks Carl for this great piece of advice!
Tom Hood, CPA,CITP,CGMAInfluencer
Influencer in Leadership, Learning, & Technology
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/best-advice-95-your-pain-caused-own-stupidity-tom-hood-cpa-citp-cgma?trk=eml-mktg-inf-m-bestadvice-0203-p5
No comments:
Post a Comment