It Happens to All of Us
I did something today that I can’t remember the last time it happened to me. I actually mixed up the date of an appointment and wound up missing a lunch with a contact to speak about an upcoming seminar where I will be speaking. While the meeting can be rescheduled, and the seminar is still a few months away, I’ve been feeling terrible most of the day. In hindsight, I’ve actually been feeling not myself most of the past week. That is what happens when items occur and they trigger something in you that knocks you off your values.
I knew several weeks back that this would be a busy couple of weeks in my life. Balancing the responsibilities of my business with the support I annually give to a charity dinner has made this time of year somewhat more stressful than normal, the last several years. Adding to the stress level for me is one of my triggers was set off. There is no other way to say it than that I DO NOT LIKE THE AFTERMATH OF SNOWSTORMS IN A CITY AND SUBURBAN ENVIRONMENT. While some see snow as beautiful, (and I’ll agree with that, if we’re talking in a beautiful forest or on a ski slope), I dread the thought of it when it is predicted. A 2 foot plus blizzard to help start the “busy period”, was enough to put me in a different frame of mind.
How was I going to manage everything? If I needed to go to in-person appointments the time to get there would be considerably longer given the after effects, the fallen snow and its remains have on traffic. In some respects, I am fortunate because as a coach I am able to connect with clients by telephone and Skype. However, once having had my focus altered, I was not thinking rationally throughout the entire week. If I was working on items for one client, I would think of items for another. If doing work for the charity dinner, I’d start thinking about the client work I was not doing. And, oh yes, I need to complete my blogs and newsletter writings for my readers.
A recent assessment I took to support the work of a coaching colleague was spot on when it indicated I am at my best when I come from a perspective of Enjoying Who I Am, Being at Peace with Myself, and properly Allocating My Time & Energy. However, when I get off of these perspectives, I’m not at my best. Sometimes I’ve been described like a little mouse running through a maze. In many ways we’re all like this. We each have our unique strengths and qualities from which we live and perform our best. And, when we don’t come from those perspectives, distress often follows.
The coaching colleague who developed the assessment is a huge believer in not trying to improve on your weaknesses, but build from your strengths. I have whole heartedly agreed with that mindset from the moment I met him several years back. And, I’m convinced getting back to my strengths, and approaching my life from those perspectives will get me back to the way I function a large percentage of the time.
In fact, as I complete this piece, my thought process on this has been put to the test throughout the day. One other area I handle well when it comes to myself personally is “Dealing with Uncertainty”, based on the assessment feedback. In the course of the last 24 hours I have learned my 88 year old Mother will need a surgical procedure done. She is a heart patient. There are risks involved, but to not do the procedure leads to even greater risks. While no one can predict outcomes, I am facing the situation, one Doctor’s report at a time. I’ve learned that from my own health situations, those of others close to me, and frankly from my Mother herself, as I was growing up.
So maybe mixing up an appointment is not as bad as I made it out to be earlier in the day. Would I have preferred not to do so? Of course. But, do I have a sense of how it happened? So, the next time I find myself stressed, I need to go back to those perspectives from which I process things in my life best. Let us just say “Lesson Learned”!
