So What. Now What? – How to Stay Present When Things Don’t Go Your Way

So what. Now what? – How to stay present when things don’t go your way.

What do you do when things don’t go your way? Do you allow yourself to get taken out of your game? And if so, for how long?

Here are a few difficult situations I heard from clients just this past week –
“My sales manager quit”.
“The bank turned down our loan request”.
“The project came in 26% over budget”.

Here’s a simple mantra that can quickly get you back into action — So what. Now what?

The “So what” part doesn’t mean you ignore reality. If your sales manager really did quit then there is something for you to do, but it lets you do it from a place of committed action and not reaction.

The “Now what?” part:
Keeps you in the present moment – where all the magic happens.
Keeps you moving – taking the very next action that will move things forward.
Keeps you connected to your game – reminds you of you what you said you wanted.

I firmly believe the ability to maintain your sense of humor when faced with adversity is an underrated superpower. This powerful little question bursts your bubble of “difficult”- and lightens you up so you can powerfully engage with what needs to happen next.

This week’s challenge
When something goes wrong see if you can catch that moment of frustration before the train leaves the station for Upsetville…then put a little half smile on your face.

So what, now what? And get back in your game.