Some Blunt Talk
Back in 2015 there was a sitcom called Blunt Talk that aired on the Starz network. It starred Patrick Stewart, and was created by Jonathan Ames, and produced by Seth MacFarlane.
The show followed a British newscaster Walter Blunt (Stewart) who moves to Los Angeles with the intention of conquering American nightly cable news. His misguided decisions on and off the air prove that his ultimate ambitions weren’t easily achieved. It wasn’t really a great show, and it was canceled after only two seasons.
I bring this up because for some reason my wife and I were watching it one night and Blunt/Stewart said something that completely resonated with me. So much so that I paused the show, grabbed some paper, and wrote down what he said.
The premise was that Walter was forced to preempt his important news reporting on a crisis in the Falklands to “break” a scandal involving an Ultra-conservative Congressman and a gay prostitute.
Then he said…
So, what Congressman Roberts stood for (saying one thing and doing another) is reprehensible, but what he did in the privacy of a hotel room is not. I for one would love to see a day when there would be no judgment and no labels for what consenting adults do when being sensual in their private lives. No straight or gay or bi or trans, just human beings in their endless variety, none more wrong or more right than the next.
–Walter Blunt
Think of how much better everyone would be if we started to focus on what is really important and leave all the petty judgments behind us.
Part of my evolution is that I have learned that no one can affect the way I feel unless I let them. I wrote about that a couple of weeks ago. Think of how much time we as a society spend trying to prove who is right and who is wrong.
For me life is so much better when I realize that what another chooses to do in private should not be any of my business. And that’s the thing that can affect us coaches–we think we have to control everything–even the private lives of those around us.
All too often when we don’t like something or if we think something is wrong, we convince ourselves we must force our belief on others–especially those we are leading or care about the most.
But you see, that just causes life to suck. Spending your valuable time trying to convince others that they are wrong, and you are right is not an enjoyable way to live!
When you get to the point where you can accept people–even those you disagree with–then you have changed the game.
Feeling bad because someone else is doing something you don’t agree with is not bad for them, it is bad for you–physically and mentally.
Stress ain’t good folks, so stop stressing over other people’s choices. I have and it feels so much better!
–DS
Related article: Learning From Hate