Episode 728 - Oh Well, What Do We Do Next?

In this holiday-themed episode of Monday Morning Mojo, Phil Buchanan explores why the end of the year naturally prompts reflection, and why that process matters. Through a candid personal story, Phil shares lessons on emotional honesty, overcoming resentment, and embracing the wisdom of mentors who remind us that “hatred corrodes the vessel it’s carried in.” This episode is a call to pause, reflect on both wins and mistakes, and set the stage for a stronger, more intentional 2026.

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Transcript

Top performers in every field surround themselves with those who inspire them, who seek to build them up, and who push them to reach beyond their current limits. I am Phil Buchanan, executive chairman of Cannon Financial Institute. I designed Monday Morning Mojo to provide you with a weekly spark, a push and motivational insight to live your best life.

Thanks for joining. Good Monday morning Cannon Nation, Phil here with episode 728 of Monday Morning Mojo. I hope that each of you is having a wonderful holiday season. The lights, the music, the parties, and the reflection. A couple of weeks back I was catching up with a pal of mine and we were amazed that we were.

Nearing the end of the year. A couple of our buddies are retiring at year end, and we were reminding and reminiscing with each other about the shared experiences we had had. In the midst of the conversation, my pal stopped and said, why do we always get so sappy and reflective at this time of year? I think that's a great question, and for most of us, it's an ending and a beginning.

It's the ending of the calendar year, the business year, but it's the anticipation of a new one that's just around the corner. And it, it can offer some deep understanding by examining our thoughts and our actions. Reflection can allow us to build emotional intelligence by studying our mistakes and our successes.

Now, this is something that I've spoken about many times. It's a process I've tried to instill in my daughters and it works, but only if you are both intellectually and emotionally honest with yourself. And this is where. Upon reflection that I have been in ERA over the past 18 or so months, and I think it's important if we are going to be pals together on this podcast that I use myself as an example here, in addition to my work in the financial services industry, I serve on boards and advisory councils in other industries.

And about 18 months ago. The leader of a business upon which I sit on the board did something that was not only unethical, but it was actually criminal. And the details here are important, but his actions not only disappointed me personally, they, they actually made me. And over the last 18 months, I have continued to harbor that anger.

Anytime I've thought about the subject, anytime I've seen this individual in public or or working even with his replacement and that business and. I, I recently saw this individual, the, the bad actor at an event, and he was carrying on without a visible care in the world, but I literally could feel the tension in my body rise.

And it was in that moment that I heard the voices of a couple of people playing in my head. These are individuals that I really respected when they were alive. One was an old mentor who was famous for actually getting extremely vocal When something didn't go right, he would almost explode, but for no longer than a minute.

And after the venting, after that minute had passed, he would calmly say, oh, well, so what do we do now? His approach, I think, was to get out all of his anger so that he could focus on the task at hand. Now, I've never been one to explosive in reacting to a situation, but it certainly seemed to work for him.

But it was that, that statement of, oh, well. What do we do next? That I really heard in my head. The other voice I heard was that of longtime US Senator Allen Simpson. In his eulogy at George Herbert Walker Bush's funeral, he remarked that President Bush held no hatred for another. Because he understood that hatred corrodes the very vessel it's carried in, meaning those who harbor hate are really harming themselves.

And you know, it was in that honest moment of reflection that I literally uttered the words, oh, well what do we do next? And mentally and emotionally move past the wrong doings of that bad actor. Now my not doing so wouldn't have changed anything, but it certainly would've continued to weigh me. Now again, the reason I share this story with you is for a couple of reasons.

Number one, I am just as guilty and maybe more of not always being the best version of myself. And two, I share it to remind all of us, and again, myself especially, that reflecting on the good and the bad in our lives is both necessary and therapeutic. So I hope all of you have some time. Over the remaining days of the year to enjoy your family and enjoy your friends.

I also hope that you have some quiet time for that personal reflection. Those moments and the lessons we glean from them might just set us on the course for even greater and more spectacular successes in 2026. Monday Morning Mojo is a production of Cannon Financial Institute, executive producer of Monday Morning.

Mojo is Sarah Jones. Editing and mixing is done by Danny Brunner. Until next time, I'm Phil Buchanan reminding you to be a force for good. Have a great week and thanks for being part of the Mojo community.