Your software malfunctions and you don’t know how to fix it. Do you suffer through and work around it? Or bite the bullet and call the manufacturer support desk?
Hopefully, neither!
If either “suffering through” or “biting the bullet” and calling the manufacturer seem like viable options, you could be making life more difficult than it needs to be, simply by the way you are thinking.
Many times when I owned my computer repair business, I would go onsite to meet a completely frustrated client who was angry at their technology. However, when I arrived to happily investigate the issue, it was not present.
Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.
Sometimes, their issues were simply user-error, but the clients were so upset they couldn’t slow down enough to read the error message(s) that told them how to get what they wanted. Too often, we go through life in the same manner.
When we act from a place of emotional balance, we can be open to all of our options and will often find quick, peaceful solutions. When we don’t, we suffer.
A great example of this is, over the last three days, I spent time trying three different versions of music notation software for my new laptop. None of them were a good fit for different reasons. I felt stuck. I was going to have to buy an expensive program that I really didn’t need because there was no upgrade path for my current product. (To put this in context, I had already dealt with this exact situation several years ago, and was forced to pay money to downgrade my product at that time in order to “get current” for collaboration purposes.)
With those thoughts in mind as I made my decision on what to do next, I could have: 1) given up and paid too much for something I didn’t want, 2) installed my old software which didn’t have the nice feature updates and crashes with newer versions of windows, or 3) called the company, guns blazing, because they keep discontinuing my products and not having current versions available for upgrade.
Instead, I chose to simply put a smile on my face and call to ask what other options were available. Did they have an upgrade path I was unaware of that would meet my needs?
In fact, they did!
I spent 10 minutes on the phone with a wonderful sales rep who was able to answer all of my questions, find my lost account with my old product registrations, and merge that information into my new account–entitling me to a significant discount on the upgrade I needed. Now, I have all of my product registrations and updated information in one place and a brand new 2014 version of their best product, which I was able to purchase at a terrific price!
Because of my positive attitude, emotional balance, and openness to unseen possibilities, I was able to be greeted by a kind, helpful customer service rep, have a short, pleasant conversation that answered all of my questions, and find a terrific solution to my situation!
You may not always be placed in situations or with people that make you happy or comfortable. But in truth, you’re responsible for your own happiness. By employing a positive, emotionally balanced attitude and outlook, and expecting to be able to find a solution to whatever challenge you are facing, you’ll be much better able to handle whoever you have to deal with and whatever you have to do. Additional options will become available because you can think with a clear and open mind and you will resolve your challenges more quickly and peaceably.
The moral to the story… Success is in large part based on your ability to stay in equanimity and out of the drama. Try it.
Open your heart. Open your mind. Smile. And go get ’em!
