You don't always control your circumstances, but you can always control your response.
Meaning
Mattis wrote this in Call Sign Chaos (2019), his memoir on leadership, reflecting on situations that were messy and out of his hands. Leaders are judged by how they react, not by the hand they were dealt. When plans collapse, pause, then choose one calm next action.
Source: Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead (2019)
About the author
James Mattis is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as commander of U.S. Central Command and as the 26th U.S. Secretary of Defense. He is also the co-author of the leadership memoir Call Sign Chaos.
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