On occasion life gives us a lesson that can’t easily be ignored. Recently, I’ve been making an effort to focus on a healthier lifestyle with healthier coping mechanisms. Rather than having a drink to help me sleep, I’ll take Z-quil. Angry, I’ll hit the gym. Frustrated, breathing exercises. Stressed out in the evening, pet my dog. In the search of balance; yoga, meditation, sauna. Bored and wanting something to do, turn off the TV and pick up a book or use a learning app. Things getting too muddled in my head, hit the trails for a run or hike… that led me to what happened today.
The work schedule changed and I found myself getting off a little earlier than expected. At work I was told that because of the work I’ve been doing, they’re converting my position from part time to full. The down side is that they have to advertise it and I’ll have to reinterview. Now, a part of me is not worried. I am the proverbial bad ass, they aren’t going to find anyone better than me at what I do at this time in this space. But….. there is always that possibility. And yet, I told my team lead and manager to go ahead and advertise, I’ll accept whatever happens.
The anxiety, fear, and insecurities that surfaced following this meeting caught me off guard.
When I left work and started driving towards home, I had an urge to stop by one of my favored haunts with great food and craft beer. That urge didn’t feel quite right and I had missed my work out this morning because I hadn’t slept well. So I opted to go home and yet I didn’t want to be around people and the gym is normally filled with people. This led to my decision to run along one of the trails near my house.
As I got home and changed I decided which trail I’d run, how far that would be, what it would look like, what trail I could jump on if I wanted to go further, etc.. In other words, I planned out my future and exactly what it would be. The Marine Corps taught me that as soon as you leave the line of departure that the plan is going to change…
There I was, a mile and a quarter into my planned 3 to 4.75 mile run, and the bridge I needed to cross was flipped over. While I could have gone over this obstacle it may not have been safe or the best route or really, worth the effort.
At this point I snapped a picture and ran down the less beaten trail. In the words of Robert Frost, “And I, I took the path less traveled by, and that made all the difference.”
In life today I had a lesson reinforced, when you think you have to go a certain way, that you’ve planned out what way you need to go and that’s it…. life will show you that not only are there other options, but sometimes you’re going to have to take them without planning for it.
Sometimes we need to adjust. We need to change paths. We need to challenge the status quo. We need to look at what lies ahead and decide if we’re going to go that route or choose another. In the phrase I was taught in the Marine Corps, we improvise, we adapt, we overcome….
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