8 minute read
Harvey Mackay
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In one of my favorite “Peanuts” comic strips, Linus says to Charlie Brown, “There’s no problem too big we can’t run away from it.” I chuckle every time I think about it because it sounds like such a simple solution to a problem. We all have problems. It’s how we deal with them that matters most. Problems move through three phases: 1. The proactive stage when problems can be solved fairly simply. 2. The reactive stage when remedial steps are necessary to turn the situation around. 3. The crisis stage when immediate action is required to avoid permanent damage.
Unfortunately, some people live their entire lives in the crisis stage, while others can go through life avoiding rough times. How can this be?
My good friend Nido Qubein, president of High Point University in North Carolina, told me that if you address problems while they’re still in the proactive stage, it will prevent unimportant things from turning into urgent situations that divert your time and attention away from important things.
Problems seem much worse in the middle of the night. If I wake up thinking of a problem, I tell myself that it will seem lighter in the morning. And it almost always is.
Whenever I feel overwhelmed by one of life’s little problems, I reflect on the story Pope John XXIII told about himself. He confessed, “It often happens that I wake at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember I am the Pope.”
Certainly, few of us face that level of responsibility. But worry is universal. We all have problems from time to time.
Try not to borrow other people’s problems. I must confess that I have broken this rule because I wanted to help someone, or I thought I was more equipped to handle a situation. As difficult as it may be, wait to offer advice until you are asked, and don’t be offended if that request never comes. Or if your advice is not heeded.
Problem solving is not easy, so don’t make it harder than it is. Ignoring a problem rarely makes it go away.
Perhaps the worst thing to do is to act as if there isn’t a problem. It’s like the battered fighter who hears his trainer say between rounds: “Champ, you’re going great! He ain’t laid a glove on you!”
The champ says, “Well, you better keep an eye on the referee then, because somebody in this ring is beating the hell outta me.”
The best place to solve a problem is at the point of complaint.
American Airlines has always had a commitment to the customer being satisfied. Years ago, American realized that a large percentage of its passengers who made complaints had them around the ticket counter and boarding gate. To head off complaints before they got started, American created a position of special-passenger service agent to deal with the problems as they arose so that the customers’ problems could be solved before they could criticize the airline.
And then there is the story of a woman who hired a carpenter for repairs on her farmhouse. One day a flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit and then his ancient truck refused to start, so the woman drove him home. He invited her in to meet his family. As they walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.
Inside, he smiled and hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. As he walked the client out to her car, she asked him about the tree.
“Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied. “I can’t help having troubles on the job, but troubles don’t belong at home. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up again.”
“Funny thing,” he said smiling, “when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren’t nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.”
Wouldn’t it be great if we could leave all our work troubles at work and not bother our families or leave our personal problems at home and get on with our workday. Find your trouble tree and put your problems in perspective.
Mackay’s Moral: Get control of your problems before they get control of you.
Reprinted with permission from nationally syndicated columnist Harvey Mackay, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller “Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive,” “We Got Fired!...And It’s the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Us,” “The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World,” and “Use Your Head To Get Your Foot In The Door.”
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Upcoming Events
THURS.-SUN., NOV. 10-13 • Melrose High School Fall Musical "Anything Goes." Thurs.-Sat. at 7:30 p.m. Sun. at 2 p.m. at Marit Elliott Performing Arts Center, Melrose. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11 • Melrose Area Schools Veterans Day Program at 10 a.m. at the Melrose Area Schools main gym. • Swanville Veterans Day Program at 7 p.m. at the Swanville Lions Park Building. Social at 5 p.m. Dinner at 6 p.m. • Upsala American Legion Post 350 Veterans Day Program & Dinner at 6 p.m. at Upsala Recreation Center.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16 • Grey Eagle Senior Center Membership Meeting at 10:45 a.m., Potluck at 12 p.m., bingo following at the center.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19 • Toy Bingo at 10 a.m. at RRev's Lakeside Tavern. • Purse Bingo at 2 p.m. starting at 12:30 p.m. at RRev's Lakeside Tavern. • Harvest Supper from 5-8 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Church basement, New Munich.
SAT.-SUN., NOVEMBER 19-20 • Swanville High School Play "Murder on the 518" at Swanville High School Auditorium. Saturday at 7 p.m. Sunday at 2 p.m.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20 • Matching Grant Breakfast from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Church of St. Anthony, in St. Anthony. ALBANY TOWNSHIP • Meets the fourth Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the Albany City Hall. • Planning Commission meets the second Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the Albany City Hall.
BURNHAMVILLE TOWNSHIP • Meets the last Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Burtrum City Hall.
FEET FIRST CLINIC • Meets the 1st Tuesday of the month from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at Holdingford City Hall.
FOOD DISTRIBUTION • Ruby’s Pantry Food Distribution first Saturday of the Month from 10-11 a.m. at River of Live Church, Sauk Centre.
FREEPORT SENIOR MEETING • Meets the 3rd Thursday of the month at 1:30 p.m. with cards/Bingo/coffee/dessert.
GREY EAGLE TOWNSHIP • Meets the first Monday of the month at 8 p.m. MELROSE TOWNSHIP • Meets the first Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at the town hall. MELROSE VFW #7050 POST/AUX. • Meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Melrose American Legion Clubrooms. MELROSE LEGION #101 POST/AUX. • Meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Melrose American Legion. (Aux. Sept.-May.)
STEARNS CO. HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY • Meets at 7 p.m. on the 2nd Monday of the month at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Albany. SUNSHINE CLUB • Meets every Monday, weigh in starts at 8; meeting at 8:30 a.m. at the Village View Apartments, Grey Eagle.
ST. ROSA CITY COUNCIL • Meets the 3rd Monday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Community Park building.
SWANVILLE CITY COUNCIL • First Tuesday after the first Monday of the month at 7 p.m.
SWANVILLE TOWNSHIP • Meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 8:30 p.m. at the Swanville Fire Hall. UPSALA CITY COUNCIL • Meets the first Monday of the month at 7 p.m.
If you have an upcoming event or meeting, please let us know by email: htnews@icloud.com or call 320-285-2323.
Temperatures
Date High Low 11/2 72 46 11/3 59 36 11/4 39 23 11/5 45 21 11/6 43 28 11/7 32 19 11/8 43 32
