Suffering is optional
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This is the quiet source of anxiety in sales. Not quota. Not your boss. Not the pipeline. It’s the stories your mind tells when the room goes quiet. “What if I miss quota? “What if they say no?” “What if I lose my job? Your mind, wired for danger, fills in the blanks with fear. It doesn’t know the difference between a real wound and an imagined one. Cut your hand while chopping vegetables, and adrenaline surges. You spring into action looking for a bandage. But just thinking about misssing quota? Your body still braces for the blow. You’re not bleeding. But your nervous system doesn’t know that. It’s not the situation that hurts. It’s the meaning we attach to it. Being behind on quota just is. But the panic comes from the whisper: “This means I’m failing.” “This means I’ll be let go.” So what do you do? You notice. You pause. You label the thought: “I’m having the thought that I’m going to lose my job.” And in that small moment of awareness, You create a gap. Space. And in that space you ask, softly: Is this a fact, or is this a story? (Facts can be observed. Stories can’t.) What else could be true? You don’t have to fight the thought. Just watch it pass. Like a cloud. The simple act of observing your thinking turns down the volume. Because the skill isn’t in avoiding discomfort. It’s in learning not to believe every thought that knocks on your door. You’re the sky. Focus on getting better at your craft. Let everything else drift by like clouds. Unwanted situations happen. Suffering is optional. |
Josh Braun
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