Do you wanna learn the secret to staying calm when the world isn't?

Hey!

We have a bunch of fun stories lined up for you today. The focus is on understanding perspective to prepare us to take action. Before, we jump into the content I want to point out that today is world wide Down Syndrome Day (3/21).

I have a daughter name Izzy that has down syndrome. She is five now. For the first few years, I allowed my mind to get the worst of me. I would compare where she was with other kids. I would get sad that she couldn’t talk or that she was still wearing diapers.

By changing my perspective, I have come to realize that the Obstacle Is the Way. Izzy is the happiest kid I know. She can put a smile on the faces of strangers. If she senses that anyone (strangers included) is sad, she will run across the room to give them a hug. She has taught me both patience and presence. She has also taught me at almost 40 years old that no matter what I just need to be myself.

With that we can jump in. estimated read time: 5 minutes

Ulysses Grant - Steady your nerves

Once upon a time, Ulysses S. Grant the civil war general and the president was posing for a photo by this famous Civil War photographer, Mathew Brady (I wonder if its the one on the $50?) .

Brady declared, that the studio's too dark, so he told his assistant to go open up the skylight. Well, the assistant slips and – bam! – a rain of glass shards falls around Grant. Everyone's freaking out, but Grant? Nah, he just chills and waits for the photo (I do wonder who helped the assistant).

And that's not even the craziest part! Another time, he's scoping out the battlefield through his binoculars when a horse next to him gets taken out by an enemy shell. But our man Grant? He doesn't even flinch. Or how about when a steamboat explodes, and everyone hits the deck? Grant just runs towards the chaos!

Now, that's what I call nerves of steel.

But let's bring it back to our lives. It's like we're walking bundles of raw nerves, right? We've got competitors breathing down our necks, unexpected problems popping up, and everything seems to be falling apart right when we think we can't handle it. It's like we're in our own personal action movie, but without the explosions (usually).

Here's the deal: when we aim high, stress and pressure are just part of the package. Unpleasant surprises are pretty much guaranteed, and the risk of being overwhelmed is always lurking. But hey, if Ulysses S. Grant could handle glass shards and exploding horses, I think we can handle a few curveballs, right?

NASA - Control your emotions

Astronauts are trained to keep their cool. I mean, can you imagine being in a tiny spaceship 150 miles above Earth, and something goes wrong? Panic is basically a death sentence up there!

But NASA ain't having none of that. They train their astronauts by recreating every single detail of their mission until it becomes as natural as breathing. They practice so much that they can handle anything without freaking out.

Take John Glenn, for example. Dude orbited Earth for almost a day, and his heart rate never even hit 100 BPM. That's what we call having "the Right Stuff."

But for some reason, we normal folks get all jittery just talking to a stranger or giving a presentation. What gives? The ancient Greeks had a word for staying calm and collected: apatheia. It's all about ditching the extreme emotions that just make things worse. We need to be like, "No thanks, panic. I'm good."

By cultivating a sense of calm, we can focus on actually solving problems instead of just reacting to them. Your boss sends a frantic email, someone's rude at a bar, or you get bad news from the bank – ask yourself: "Does freaking out help me here?"

Chances are, it doesn't.

So, go ahead, feel your emotions – but don't let them control you. Remember: you're the boss, not your feelings. Stay cool, stay focused, and use logic to beat those emotions into submission.

Pericles - Alter your perspective

Let me tell you this story about the Athenian general Pericles. So, he's on this naval mission during the Peloponnesian War with a fleet of 150 ships.

Out of nowhere, the sun gets eclipsed, and everything goes dark. His men freak out, but Pericles stays cool as a cucumber. He goes to a lead steersman, takes off his cloak, and covers the guy's face with it. He asks the steersman if he's scared, and the guy's like, "Nah, not at all." So Pericles is like, "Well, what's the difference when the reason for the darkness changes?"

The point here is that the Greeks were onto something: perspective is everything. When you can look at something from a different angle, it loses its power over you. Fear can be irrational and distracting, but with the right perspective, you can beat it.

See, we often choose to see the scary side of things, but a simple change in perspective can change how we react. Instead of ignoring fear, try to understand and break it down.

Always remember that we choose how we look at things. We have the power to inject perspective into any situation. While we can't change the obstacles themselves, our perspective can change how they appear and how tough they are to overcome.

It's up to you whether you want to put "I" in front of something, like "I hate public speaking" or "I screwed up." Doing that adds an extra element: you, in relation to the obstacle. And with the wrong perspective, even small issues can become overwhelming. So why do that to ourselves?

The right perspective has this magical way of cutting obstacles and adversity down to size. But for some reason, we tend to look at things in isolation. We beat ourselves up over lost deals or missed meetings. Sure, it sucks on its own, but when you put it into perspective, it's actually not that big of a deal.

George Clooney

Now, let's talk George Clooney. Before he was Danny Ocean or Fantastic Mr.Fox, he was just another struggling actor in Hollywood. Audition after audition, he'd face rejection. Naturally, it bummed him out.

We've all been there, right? We blame companies for not hiring us or attractive strangers for not making a move. But what if we flipped the script?

One day, Clooney had an epiphany: he wasn't the one who needed the producers; they needed him. He wasn't some nobody begging for a break - he was the star they were searching for!

This perspective shift was a game-changer. In auditions, he oozed confidence, showing everyone he was the guy who could get the job done. And, well, the rest is history.

So, what's the takeaway? Your perspective can make or break you. When life throws you a curveball, ask yourself: is my perspective helping me or holding me back? Are you freaking out over an eclipse or realizing you're the solution, not the problem? Perception, my friends, is everything.

Prepare to act

You know, problems are usually not as bad as we think they are. In fact, they're pretty much as bad as we make them out to be. Realizing that the worst thing isn't the actual problem, but rather the problem plus losing your cool, is a big step forward. That way, you won't end up with two problems, one of which is totally unnecessary.

So here's the deal: Once you see the world for what it is, you've gotta take action. Having the right perception – objective, rational, ambitious, and clear – helps you focus on the obstacle and see it for what it really is. A clear head leads to steadier hands, and then you can put those hands to work.

Look, we all make assumptions and weigh pros and cons in life. Nobody's asking you to see the world through rose-colored glasses or aim for some kind of noble failure. But being bold means taking action even when you know the negatives and the reality of your obstacle. Choose to face what's in your way, not because you're a risk-taker defying the odds, but because you've calculated those odds and decided to embrace the challenge.

At the end of the day, once you've got your perceptions in check, it's time to act. So, are you ready?