It is said an Eastern monarch once charged his wise men to invent him a sentence to be ever in view, and which should be true and appropriate in all times and situations. They presented him the words: "And this, too, shall pass away." ~ Abraham Lincoln

This past Friday, like many millions of people around the world, I tuned into the first Presidential Debate. They've been debating for over 18 months now but the media said this was the first. I listened very carefully for their plans and strategies to take our country to a better place. I kept a keen eye on body contact, body language, and signs of frustration or angst. I watched the moderator cleverly encouraging them to talk to one another rather than the audience. For 90 minutes I was able to drink from the cup of euphoria and imagine a world with peace and prosperity. I enjoyed hearing both candidates say that our systems are broken and they both had the answers to fix them. For that hour and a half, all was right with the world. Then, like being suddenly awaken from a dream, the debate was over. I was left to fend for myself in the madness of life. I realized that if I don't pay my bills on time, there's nothing either candidate could do to fix the credit crisis. If I don't properly educate myself and my children, there's nothing anyone can do to break the cycle of poverty. It became clear in all of one minute that the feelings I had during the debate shall pass if I don't make myself part of the solution. President Lincoln didn't need wise men to provide the sentence that any of us could have provided. 'This too shall pass' is a phrase that if not used appropriately can enable us to accept our current state of sad affairs. I agree that most difficult times will pass, but they'll be back if we don't demonstrate we've learned something through the experience.
My challenge to you this week is to reflect on a difficult situation that you simply let pass away without addressing it head on. Reflect on how the situation may rear its ugly head again if you continue to ignore it. Leadership requires knowing when to fight and knowing when to walk away. Walking away however is not a solution if the other party doesn't believe you are aware of what's going on. If you appear to be naïve or simply blind to the issue, both the problem and problem source will reintroduce themselves very soon. Teachers shouldn't ignore difficult students, doctors shouldn't ignore difficult patients, and managers shouldn't ignore difficult employees. "And this, too, shall pass" is a great saying when recovering from a difficult situation. Shame on us all if we dismiss the opportunity to learn from it.

Alonzo M Kelly