Recently, I was thinking about something a friend of mine named Tom told me a few years back.

He owns a company in Oklahoma City and was telling me about how someone he'd hired essentially

stole from him.

And the first question that came to my mind as he was telling the story was, okay, what are you

going to do about it?

And I asked him the question and he was kind of quiet for a second and then asked in his

southern accent, Eddie, if a snake bites you, are you going to chase it into the woods to get your revenge?

Or are you going to get the medical attention required to save yourself?

Basically, are you going to focus on the past or on what to do from here forward?

Basically, he cut ties with the person but had moved on.

Was already thinking about next steps that were best for him, his family, and his business.

And I can tell you, since hearing that, it's become an incredibly valuable idea in my life.

Especially as you realize that there will never be a shortage of problems.

You do what you can to avoid them.

You try to steer clear when possible, but adversity will always be a factor.

It's about knowing that and stepping into it regardless. It's just, it's something that's always intertwined in our development.

And I find value in asking myself, is this action I'm about to take conducive to my growth

and my happiness, or am I just chasing snakes? Does this just feel good

in the short term because I'm angry or I've been wronged or something along those lines?

Especially since most harm inflicted on others derived from incompetence, not malice, and I truly believe that.

I think very frequently we attribute sinister motives to others

when 99% of the time it's sheer stupidity.

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