Forty-five percent. Did you see that? According that infamous Aflac survey, nearly half of you won't be reading this column soon. Seriously y'all, I think it's time for a little prayer meeting.

My two younger sons play football, and as we're embarking on another season I'm already preparing for the inevitable “Dad, I don't think I want to do this anymore” talk.

You know the one. If you have kids, you've delivered it. And if you were once a kid yourself, you've heard it. It's usually on an afternoon when we're tired, when the heat has lingered a little further into September than we'd like. Maybe we had a tough day at practice.

Suddenly that thing we were so enthused about a few weeks ago has become something we no longer want to do. And here's what I've noticed. I have never had that conversation with my boys after they've won a game on Saturday.

Do you know what it means to be a prisoner of the moment? We see it every day. The quarterback has a bad day and suddenly he's washed up. Next week, he has a good day, and we're going to the Super Bowl.

Right after a loss, it's only natural for us to hang our heads, speak in self-defeating hyperbole, and think it's time for a change.

Have you ever heard you should wait 24 hours before committing to a major decision? Especially when it's a potentially negative situation, give your emotions time to cool. Think things through with an eye for the long-term.

When we're imprisoned in the moment, we're not thinking rationally. We're not thinking about statistics or performance history or emerging markets or any of the indicators a rational third party would see as positive. Instead, we're focused on how uncomfortable we are; how inconvenient it is for us.

I know the moment says, “Run, Forrest, Run!” But we're smarter than that. We know that the moment will change tomorrow, so we can't base our decisions on that. We'll look to our strengths. We'll educate ourselves on the changing landscape and see what new opportunities might be a good fit for our proven expertise.

Allow me to tell you what I'll tell my boys in a week or two: “You suck it up and get your a–” er… um… Did you see how bad Peyton looked Sunday?

Instant Insights /

Holy Alcatraz, Batman!

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