the problem and the metaproblem

That which happens in life is not as important as how you accept it.

Mark riddle points us to a great quote by Walter Brueggemann.

The quote reminded me of a great George Stephanopoulos story that he shares in his wonderful All Too Human.

It was just after Clinton decided that he no longer wished for Stephanopoulos to be his communications director. It really threw Stephanopoulos for a loop but what turned out to be a lodestar for him through his transition to a new White House role was the advise of Rep. Tony Coelho:

Nobody will remember what happened to you. They'll remember how you handled it.

This quote has been enormously helpful to me as it specifically has come to mind in the midst of such troubling situations.

There's always the problem, the presenting situation, and the metaproblem, how we handle it. It's very easy for us to focus exclusively on the former without realizing that focus on the latter is even more necessary.