Do You Suffer from Make Stuff Up Disorder - Career Pivot

Do You Suffer from Make Stuff Up Disorder - Career Pivot Do You Make Stuff Up? Copyright: innovatedcaptures / 123RF Stock Photo I’ve had threemeetings in the last week where clients just believed the things they made up in their brains. Some of them fantasized about the future, while others caused themselves stress because they imagined all of the worst things that could possibly happen based on stuff they made up. Do you make stuff up in your head? I have coined the phrase “MSU Disorder” or Make Stuff Up Disorder. (Note: You could replace the word “stuff” with a four-letter expletive.) Fantasy Companies and Positions I met with a client who told me his dream job was to write for a specific magazine. I asked him, “Do you know anyone who has actually worked there?” He responded, “No.” I said, “How the heck (another four-letter expletive can be replaced here) do you know what it is like to work there?” He responded, “Well I really don’t.” Listen to the most recent episode He thought that, just because he loved to read the magazine, it would be great to work there. Have you done this? If you say no, well I might not believe you. Predicting the Worst Susan started a new job with a major drug company 5 months ago. Susan has knocked the ball out of the park! She has done an incredible job. Early this week, it was announced that the organization where she worked (150-200 people) would have a 30% headcount reduction, and those affected would be toldthe next day. Susan immediately went into panic mode. She fretted much of the next day. The next day, her boss told her that, not only would she still have her job, but she was to lead a highly prized project. Remember I told you that she hadhit the ball out of the parkfor the last 5 months. She ignored every sign that she was highly valued, even though there were a lot of signs. She just made stuff up in her head when she heard about the layoffs, which caused an enormous amount of stress. Anytime you hear about layoffs in your organization, it will cause anxiety and stress, but Susan blew it way out of proportion. Have you done this? Meeting with the Boss Sally has a regular meeting with her boss. Sally would bring in a listof her activities into the meeting. Her boss would critique her list of activities at every meeting, often in an abusive manner. Why did Sally bring the list into the meeting? She had always done this with previous bosses. Sally told me that she was not going to bring the list into the meeting. Sally predicted that her boss would criticize her for not having the list. This caused her to stress the entire next day. What happened? NOTHING! Her boss just took notes. Sally’s boss had never asked for her to bring any type of documentation to the meeting. Sally made up the entire story in her head. She just made stuff up! Have You Made Stuff Up? If you say no, I will not believe you. We allmake stuff up! I have caused myself more stress because of Make Stuff Up Disorder. I’ve predicted the worst or fantasized how things would be based on stuff I imagined. In Judith Glaser’s book, Conversational Intelligence: How Great Leaders Build Trust Get Extraordinary Results, she discusses that the stories we make up have a great impact on our career. With both Susan and Sally, I had them review the stuff they made up and compare it to what really happened. They then made a “mental bookmark.” The purpose of making a mental bookmark is to allow them to go back to these situations as an example to draw from when they start to make up stuff again. When we realize that we make up stuff in our heads, it helps us to stay in the moment. Staying in the moment helps us reduce anxiety in difficult times. Do you suffer from Make Stuff Up disorder? Marc Miller Like what you just read? Share it with your friends using the buttons above. Like What You Read? Get Career Pivot Insights! Check out the Repurpose Your Career Podcast Do You Need Help With ...