“When something appears to go wrong, look for the lesson in it for you instead of finding fault with anyone else or even yourself.”—Harold Klemp The Language of Soul
Things go wrong. We put the best plans in place. We have the right tools. We have the time allocated. Then, things go wrong.
So many variables. So many things to weigh and measure. So many things.
When things go wrong, it is easy to get upset, blame others, blame ourselves, or just blame lady luck. What if there was a lesson in every experience? Why waste time on emotions or play the “blame game”?
Have you ever run out of gas? You’re cruising along, everything is on track, and beep, beep, beep, the gas gauge begins blinking and the closest gas station is a long way away.
First reaction: I can’t believe my ___ forgot to fill up the tank. I told ___ to do it yesterday.
OR: I can’t believe I forgot to fill up the tank.
Lesson: Pay attention and slow down.
Have you ever had one of those days where you had one accident after another? I had one of these days a few months back. The first was breaking a coffee cup. It was totally accidental. I was reaching for something on the counter-top, I wasn’t paying attention, and CRACK! A little later that day I was walking up the stairs with my laundry and didn’t lift my foot up far enough crunching my toes into the step above—OUCH!!! The final one was when I dropped a letter on the floor, picked it up from under the table and misjudged the edge of the table. You guessed it—BAM! I smacked the back of my head on the bottom of the table as I was lifting my head. At that moment, I stopped. I waited. I reset. The lesson: Pay attention to what you are doing and slow down.
This is just one example. Sometimes the lessons are very simple. At other times, they are harder to figure out. The key is to really look. The lessons are there. Whatever your lesson is, it is waiting for you to discover it and learn from it. If you do, you’ll find that your life will run just a little smoother.
We all have crazy days, where our minds are spinning at all the things on our plate. These are the days to pay attention and slow down. What’s the added lesson here? Learn how to say no, plan your days ahead of time, and do not overfill your day with too many things. You really don’t need to get as much done in a day as you think, and the overwhelm you’re feeling is normally because you tried to wing it, forgot about planning anything, and avoided being mindful about your calendar.
I hope all of you are enjoying a well-deserved weekend with your family. I’m enjoying the wonderful weather today in Michigan, just got back from a great cardio routine and some time in the gym’s sauna, and about ready to begin another session of learning at Hillsdale.edu.
I wish you well today! Enjoy your time off, enjoy time with your loved ones and pets, and hope you take some time to really savor how great this life is.
Until next time…
Dave
