I was twelve minutes away from my destination when it all went to heck. The vehicle started bucking and throwing up codes. It loves to do this when I am hundreds of miles away from home. I felt like Ladybug in Bullet Train with bad luck following me everywhere. I managed to get it to a parking lot and called for AAA. I took a few deep breaths and decided this was a great time to break for lunch. As soon as we got into the restaurant, I received an alert that the battery truck will be there in 9 minutes. I hurriely bought the kids lunch and told them to enjoy while I waited on the driver. Maybe my luck was changing. I struggled to get the hood open and one of the construction workers came over and helped me. He asked if I needed a jump and I told him that AAA was coming and I probably needed a new battery. Twenty minutes later there was no truck in site. I called for an eta and then ignored all the "updates" showing the same time as before. Thankfully my son's roommate was able to pick him up. I guess dealing with a crisis is a great way to damped the sadness of the moment. I ate lunch and when I finished, the AAA driver appeared. Problem solved. I made up my mind to be grateful and to get it checked out when I got back home. Have you ever had a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day? How did you deal with it?
Ladybug tries to roll with the punches and finds the next step to take in a horrible situation by calming his mind and allowing his intuition and guide him. I continued on my journey. My ETA was two hours and I mentally expected three hours. Five slowdowns due to collisions and a torrential downpour later, we made it to our hotel. I decied to roll with the punches and try to find the bright side of everything that had happened. Every incident has a trade off. There was no good or bad; simply outomes I like and outcomes I don't like, All of this upheaval, I feel is to guide me to building a stronger foundation. I need to make time to recharge and reset in order to gain clarity and increase the likelihood of success. I am getting better at notice when my emotions are running, like when I was upset that the car was acting up. Once I realized it, I decided to make the best of it. We were hungry and it was lunchtime, so let's roll with it. Do you know when to surrender and when to fight?
The Clash asks, "Should I stay or should I go?" I am usually a go go go person. Most of the time it works out okay, but sometimes, I think I should have considered other options. I saw a post that asks us to reflect if we are the best person to take action in a situation. I think I have been keeping still when I should be moving forward. The distractasaurus has returned with a vengeance and I keep feeding it. The last time I had a string of bad luck, I made changes and everything seemed to be looking up. Then my get up and go got up and went. I have to figure out a way to let rest and relaxation work in conjunction with my need to go foward. My friend Yinka Euwola always stresses that there are no such things as priorities. Priority means first in rank. There can only be one first. I think there can be rapid shifts in priority. Yesterday my priority was to get my kids to college. When my car started to act up, the priority quickly became getting it fixed because I could not achieve the other one without it being fixed. Perhaps we need to be flexible and disciplined at the same time. Most of the time, I do not multitask because I know I am not effective. My new routine of completing one task, celebrating and then choosing the next action with deliberateness. I can control how I respond to curveballs. How do you assess what is a priority in your life?
How do I move forward in a deliberate way with speed and discipline while navigating roadblocks? I am working on it. First, I breathe. Then I try to calmly assess the situation and review potential actions. In my last endeavor, I did several test runs to work out the kinks. Yet I missed little things in the process that would not result in the best experience. Nevertheless, now that I am aware, I will Gemba walk the process from the participants point of view and ensure I have captured every part of the process. I have been struggling to let the energy flow. Part of it is that even though I generally choose to respond, I am missing the guideposts and a clear roadmap. Having a complete vision helps to define what is the main thing in each moment. This is how I think I will be able to align all the things I want to accomplish. I need to get back to starting my day with intention and ending it with reflection. What is my why? What helps you to push forward?
Namaste. If you are enjoying this blog, please tell a friend.
Speaking of determining a priority. My next priority is another incredible Clarity Playshop on September 10th at 10am EST. If you have a decision to make and it's stressing you out, this Playshop will help you gain clarity and then you can deliberately take your next step. It is sixty to ninety minutes depending on your participation. You can register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZclce-urj0uGN1i3Fhz4vdCyet80OeKj68M
