Ôªø Tracy Knofla: Thriving In Chaos

Letting Go

As I write this there is no chaos anywhere in my world. In fact, I am on my deck overlooking the lake and it is quiet except for my neighbor's table saw as he continues his five year house-siding project. Today, in my world, no chaos! Maybe this is the BEST time to write a thriving tip!

I had the pleasure of facilitating a day long retreat last week with a hard working staff of campus activities professionals who, frankly, have an incredibly chaotic work environment. During the course of our time together, one of the veteran staffers, Miss Shirley, shared her secret for thriving in that environment. She said she prayed during those tough moments to help her let go of the anxiety, tension, and emotion.

After she shared this with us, I observed her demeanor more closely. She did radiate certain calm. Later in the day she was overheard coaching a co-worker to bring it down, meaning the level of emotion she was displaying. It really seemed to help.

It strikes me that this notion of letting go of consciously telling yourself to let go of some of the big emotion you feel in a difficult situation might be an excellent way to help you thrive. Some people hold onto their hurt, frustration, anger, and guilt much too long perseverating on it until it reaches a chaotic level. I think Miss Shirley is on to something. Her thriving tip is to pray. My thriving tip is to let go. Start each day anew.

This afternoon I will speak to a group of 200 parents at orientation at a college here in Connecticut. I will give them essentially this same advice. I will ask them to let go of their old relationship with their child and let a new one emerge. I hope to calm some nerves and relieve some of their anxieties by helping them let go.

I hope it works for them and I hope it works for you!

Tracy

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Tracy Knofla
High Impact Training

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