It’s a brand new day, it’s a brand new week.
Picture this:
You’re walking on sunshine. The day is bright, your skin is getting some vitamin D, your lungs are getting some fresh air, your hair is out, your playlist is giving what you need it give and nobody is going to spoil your day, because you’re intentional about it being a good day. And then a car drives by and someone throws out thrash on you. Your outfit is suddenly dirtied from some stranger’s actions.
A fuse goes off in your brain. ‘I didn’t plan or anticipate that.’
What do you do?
Although we go through the motions every week and several times a month, a year, there’s always some expectations arising with newness.
The feeling that, ‘today is gonna be better, this week I’m gonna kick ass, this month is gonna be fantastic.’
There’s that feeling of starting on a new slate. That’s what the celebration of a new day or new week often feels like.
It’s feels Like a blank canvas that is yet to be touched or soiled. Only possibilities exist. No mistakes, no errors, no erasing, no redoing, no regrets, at least not yet.
But what happens when you spill that coffee that is meant to gives you your kick for your new day? What happens when you get to work and the colleague with an attitude last week has an even meaner attitude today? What happens when the same issues you thought had been thrashed previously, start creeping up on the day?
And it does happen!
Life, it cannot be curated, at least not by us mere humans. If a disruption doesn’t happen due to nature, it’ll happen due to another human.
All we can do is go with the flow.
What happens after that thrash falls in you?
You either turn around and go back home and stay indoors forever or you decide to do something else. You either let that stranger spoil your day or you choose to move forward with your plans regardless.
‘Talk is cheap’, It’s the doing that is costly.
If you choose to move forward with your plans regardless of what life throws at you, there are three things I’d like you to always have in mind for this to be possible.
1. Shake it off
We need to learn to shake off the discouragement and disappointment.
Acknowledge the disruption and remember that you didn’t plan for it, you’ve got to move on from it.
Too often times we expend energy trying to find closure or validation, justification for a happening. You don’t always need closure.
Acknowledge that it isn’t part of your plan and make sure you reinforce that fact to your self.
You can write about it some other day. You can tell the story at the end of your day or week or life. If you still remember it.
Right now, you don’t need to spare any energy for that.
What if the disruption is not one you can shake off and move on? What if you got a flare tyre and there’s no other way to continue your journey?
What if you got called about a sick child and there’s no way to shake it off and continue with your day?
And when things go wrong that demand our immediate attention. Think about what is of more value to you and prioritize.
Everything has to do with deciding. There’s no time to mourn or be sad or angry. Choose which one you need to prioritize now and run with it.
Shit happens to help you prioritize. Things go wrong to help your reinforce your values and your principles.
Stuff going wrong are impromptu tests that life sets for us.
I feel you. Nobody likes an impromptu test.
However tests must come.
These tests/challenges are life’s way of propelling us forward. When you fail it, you have to repeat the test. In some other way, you’re going to go through some other challenge to help you reinforce the principles you couldn’t the last time.
So I want you to go through each new day, each new week or new month determined to ace it.
Things may go wrong, outside of our plan. But its a plan gone wrong.
Not your journey or your whole life gone wrong.
It will be saddening, disappointing, discouraging and again I bring you back to the no. 1 point.
Shake it off. This is the first step to passing the test when things go wrong.
And life will not relent until we’ve graduated from this step.
We must practice and perfect the art of shaking things off.
What is Shaking meant to accomplish?
Why you have to shake it off?
What is the purpose of using a salt shaker or a pepper shaker?
To bring out the salt, to bring out the pepper. So that you can spice up your food.
Why do you shake your bottle of medicine or juice or oil, to mix up the contents, so that what comes out is even?
Why do you shake or move your body when exercising? To tone up your heart and muscles.
Why does the body shiver or shake when it has a fever? One’s muscles move in order to generate heat to combat the perceived chill of the body.
The shaking of anything involves a toning, an evening. It happens every now then. The shaking itself is a sign that the container/body has the combative ability to do this.
Every time we practice shaking it off when things go wrong there is shaping up of your character. There is a toning of your mindset.
You’re building up a personality that can withstand the wildest of disruptions.
If you practices shaking it off by yourself enough there will reach a point where no external influences can shake you up.
You either learn to shake it off or be shaken up.
2. Refocus on the forward goal
A shaking off means a re-prioritization.
Sometimes the original plan may stick and other times the original plan may have to adjusted or discarded all together.
You had a goal and then something went wrong.
In your re-prioritization, is that goal still foremost or is there something more urgent that needs your attention?
Again, it boils down to decision making. Will you choose your original route to get to the destination or would you be rerouting?
You know the thing with GPS and driving with many routes to a place?
You’ll get there, if the road is blocked or closed. You’ll turn back and follow another route. If GPS gave you a much longer route than necessary, oh well, you’ll still get there.
The first route may work good and fine or not.
The key is once you’ve decided, stick to your guns and see that your reach your goal. Life involves a lot of shaking it off and refocusing.
Sometimes a goal may be delayed. With time you will see that the bypass or delay was necessary.
At the time it happens, you may not see the whole picture, but when you get to the end, everything falls in place.
3. Find Joy in the Disruption
There’s a Nigerian song that goes, “problem e no dey finish, make you try Dey enjoy”
There is never an end to glitches and problems and but life goes on!
To enjoy means to find joy. You must find some joy in the midst of the chaos. Take it moment by moment. Find joy in every day as it comes.
Start from the little things.
Seek for joy first from within and then from outside.
Find joy in your person and be joyful for other persons. Share in their joy if you really can’t find any within you.
I remember the first time I experienced an airplane turbulence in my life, geez! It was scary, a little nerve wracking.
Right there in the middle of all that shaking and trying to make sense of what was happening, a clear sonorous laughter rang out from a little girl. After a while, her brother also joined her in laughing.
Well, that took me aback and it calmed me down as well.
Every time the plane started shaking, the kids increased their volume.
Soon, I could see other passengers also looking in their direction and laughing.
I smiled too. It was surprising that in the midst of that turbulence these kids had found it playful and their laughter helped to relieve a lot of pressure in the cabin.
I don’t know for sure about other passengers but that helped me to ease up a bit. From that one time incident, I’ve never been scared when facing air turbulence. From the laughter of those kids I take it that I’m getting a rollercoaster ride.
Develop the habit of rejoicing with others. Buid upon seeing disruptions as roller coaster rides. This life is not smooth for anyone do not be deceived by appearances. Everyone alive has their tests and battles to fight, there’s no escaping it.
We grow in childhood, we mature in adulthood. A failure to have and pass these tests means a delay in maturity. If you don’t pay now, you’ll pay later.
Things will go wrong.
We must face tests and challenges.
By learning to shake it off, you won’t be shaken up.
Life consists of series of shaking off and refocusing, try to find joy in the process.
