I awoke yesterday morning to a thermometer reading of -4 (wind chill -20). For some, their reaction is “I guess I need to wear long sleeves today.” For others, “I could never live where it gets that cold.” For me it’s somewhere in the middle. Something like: “Damn, it’s gonna be cold when I walk the dog this morning, but I do live in Wisconsin so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

As I walked the dog – yes, I was pretty cold – I started thinking about things that we do because we’ve always done them, or things that we do because we think we should do them but we really don’t enjoy them that much. For me, as a cyclist living in “The Great White North”, I’ve felt for the last few years that when the weather gets cold I should just suck it up, put on several layers, and take a ride on the trails on my fat tire bike. Why? Because some of my cycling buddies do it and because it’s fun – or so I’m told. Truth be told, when I go for a ride on a day like today I’m really doing it so I can say I did it. I don’t enjoy it and pretty much from the moment I get on my bike I’m looking forward to finishing my ride and taking a hot shower. Seems a stupid way to live.

What about work? How many of us do things in our job that we don’t have to do, we just do them because someone said we should? Or, worse yet, we do business with someone that makes us uncomfortable, makes us dread any interaction, all because we think we should. Well, boys and girls, the reality is that’s also pretty stupid.

I’m rereading Simon Sinek’s “Start with Why” and I came across this line: “…the goal is not to do business with anyone who simply wants what you have, but to do business with people who believe what you believe…” So true!

So as you think about your goals for 2018 – you have written them down, haven’t you – add this one, if it’s not on your list: “I’m not going to do things that don’t make sense, whether in my personal or business life.” If you have a customer that almost makes you ill when you work with them, stop. There is no law that says you have to continue to make yourself sick. If it’s your company and you can’t find someone else to deal with them, fire your client (see this article by Mark Burrall). If it’s not your company, find someone else that may get along with them. If your boss says you have to keep working with them, stop and think if you’re working in the right place. Plus, the chances are that customer that almost makes you ill feels the same way about you. A change will do you both good.

Baby it’s cold outside, but that doesn’t mean you have to ride your fat tire bike and be miserable just because someone else enjoys it. Life is too short.