UNITED STATES—Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome. I know I’m NOT the only person who has heard that phrase. However, it feels like so many of us indulge in insanity more than I can imagine. We do the same thing over and over hoping for a different outcome. It is like we get stuck in this time warp and we cannot escape no matter how hard we attempt to do so. This is not just in our daily life, but it involves work, family and a host of things.

For example, the notion of just getting up in the morning and going to work for me is a chore. It’s disheartening, it’s frustrating and it does indeed take a toll on my mindset. I ask myself what I can do TODAY or this week to make the week go smoother or better than the previous week. The right questions are being asked, but I fall within that troupe of what makes me comfortable and I’m doing the same thing over and over again hoping for a different result. Guess what: the result has not changed people.

The thing about insanity is you have to know WHAT you’re doing is NOT working and find a way to make changes to what is causing so much frustration and a new plan or way to tackle it. You know it, but you don’t always see it. That means you must fight more to take action for things that are not working. Come to the table with management, come up with a solution and figure out what you can do to change it or perhaps it’s time to vacate that role people.

There are some things some people are just not good at. You cannot be forced into a role that does not fit your skill set or capabilities. What does that mean? You don’t see a brain surgeon performing open heart surgery. You know why: a brain surgeon specializes in the brain, NOT the heart. That is like trying to force someone who is a strong introvert into being a social butterfly. You are who you are and while it might be fun to vacate that role for a time being, you are comfortable with what you’re comfortable with.

The same applies in the work arena, you don’t just keep doing something that makes you miserable, you find your passion and at times it might take weeks, months or years to find it, but you’ll know you’ve found it the moment, where you tell yourself, “I could do this and not get paid and be happy.” Not many people can say that, but there are a select few who have found that in life and gosh, I wish I was one of those individuals.

Dealing with insanity also involves family. I have relatives I just don’t get along with and because of that; I love them from a distance. I don’t have the energy or motivation to go back and forth with something you can’t hear what I’m saying and I can’t hear what they are saying. That goes extra for my little brother. We are simply fire and gasoline. I can’t recall the last time we had a civil conversation where we weren’t fibers away from getting physical.

I have come to learn he is who he is and I have to accept that. I can give guidance and advice, but beyond that he is going to do what he chooses to do. That is where the insanity comes in after nearly a decade of trying to break thru, I have come to allow my brother to be him, as long as he doesn’t endanger my nieces and nephews we won’t have a problem people.

You might be asking where I am getting with all of this. I’m getting to the point that we all have bouts of insanity, but it is not the end of the world. There are things you can do to fix the problems that just burn your soul at times. You have to be able to see it and realize, “Heck, nothing here is working and I’m either going to burn out completely doing this, blow a gasket on someone who doesn’t deserve it, or put myself in the hospital stressing over things that I cannot control.”

NONE OF THOSE THINGS ARE HEALTHY people, so you have to ask the question, “Am I doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same result?” If the answer is yes, you know what you have to do people.