Hello there,

I’m a new Scholar and my big goal with SCS is to learn to face life with more ease, less fear.

Recently, we had a not-so-great month in terms of finances. I need to explore what happened, understand the financial statements, get to the bottom of it. I know how to do this, it’s basic financial management. But even as I write this, I drop into this old, well-worn, familiar track of panic. Panic used to be an incredible motivator. Except panic doesn’t help me anymore. My business is too big now, my role is too important, and I can’t afford to use up my energy in panic.

Here’s the model work that I did:

Old Model
Circumstance: poor financial results
Thinking: it’s all a disaster, the business is going down the toilet, failure is imminent
Feeling: panic, distress, hopelessness, worry, fear
Action: avoid looking at the information, wait for it to pass, eat chocolate, tell everyone they have to stop spending
Results: Spread fear and worry to my team, hamper our expansion

New Model
Circumstance: poor financial results
Thinking: the company has grown and just come through a challenging time; it’s normal that there will be growing pains and it’s my job and my privilege to lead the company through these times.
Feeling: optimism, pride, curiosity
Action: investigate the financials, really learn them, create new and improved systems
Results: greater capabilities, capacity and profitability for the company, greater capability for me

Is this the right track?

What do I do when I start to slip into the old model, I catch myself and I want to go to the new model but the old one feels so comfortable and familiar? Thanks.