Gravity is generally not something we think about. It is unlikely that we would wake up in the morning thinking “I hate feeling this heavy, I would much rather be weightless and float!” Do we ever think about the fact that gravity keeps us all earth bound? We simply accept that gravity exists and understand that it is not something we can do anything about.
With regard to business, issues that we cannot control I regard as “gravity issues”. A simple example would be that of the current economic climate. Stephen Covey talks about the circle of concern and the circle of influence. The circle of concern is what we worry about, but over which we have absolutely no control. The circle of influence is that over which we are able to exert some influence. Covey suggests that to be effective in business one must separate lower and higher priorities in terms of which issues I have more control over. It is useless spending time and energy on things beyond our control.
Understanding and accepting that which we can control, that which we can influence and that which is beyond our control is key to understanding the extend of responsibility in our lives. It serves little purpose to worry about matters we have no control over. By focusing on the “gravity issues”, we stay stuck on the things we cannot change – instead of making a difference with regards to the things we can change.