Recalculating

I have learned a few valuable lessons from my GPS.

Recalculating, and the very unemotional voice telling you one simple directive at a time, have taught me quite a few lessons. 

Recalculating; Finding out that you are going the wrong direction, and calmly adjusting.  Or realizing the path has changed and calmly adjusting.

 Most of us make plans in our lives, and quite often life makes other plans.  It is not completely unnatural to have a hard time with this, yet we likely have the same reactions day after day, year after year.

When we realize that things have changed, how do we adjust?  Do we focus on the burden this has put on us?  Contemplate how unfair this all is?  It is acceptable for a toddler to have an absolute fit, not so much for a 30 something year old woman.  For those of us who tend to become unnerved….

…Enter lesson number two.  When you have been caught off guard, put one foot in front of the other and keep going.  Make a right turn in 2.6 miles, continue straight for the next 8 minutes. 

We can cry, get angry or simply freeze in fear, or we can just breathe and put one foot in front of the other and keep going until we have found our footing once again.

How we deal with the unexpected says a lot about us.  The more people we have in our lives, the more unexpected is in our lives too.

So we recalculate and find our new direction.

And here is a bonus lesson (also from the GPS). 

It only works if you have a destination.  Make your plans, enjoy the journey, and when things change, change with it.

Change #3:  On a daily or weekly basis, as the unexpected arises, breathe through it and recalculate.  If a new direction doesn't become clear, put one foot in front of the next until it does.