Expecting the Best

I was dropping off my training materials to be printed at the store. The man working behind the counter recognized me since I’m probably one of their best customers. As he began to work on my project, we made small talk.

 

All of a sudden, the humming of the copier stopped. We both turned to stare at the machine. He quickly assessed the issue and with a scowl on his face, he stated, “I knew my day was going to be bad like this.” Concerned, I watched him start to work on the problem. His emotional response was so dramatic that I assumed that this was a very serious situation and the copier was out of commission. I asked him if I should come back later, since it sounded like this was not going to be a fast fix. But no— after a quick cartridge replacement, the copier was up and running.

 

The reaction from the worker didn’t jive with the minor problem that he faced.

 

I couldn’t help but notice the irony in the situation. There I was, having my training material on Resilience printed, while he so clearly demonstrated a lack of any ability to weather the teeny tiniest of storms. In his world, this was a big catastrophe. In a Resilient person’s world, this would not even measure a blip on the radar screen.

 

I suppose that if you wake up in the morning believing that the worst is going to happen and your day is really going to suck, the universe will give you that bad day that really sucks.

 

However, is the universe really responsible for your day? Things happen and you are in charge of your reactions to what the universe throws at you. You decide whether you want to receive it in a positive manner or not. You decide how you want to react and respond to what has transpired.

 

Last year, I was walking downtown in my favorite dress on a hot summer day. It was lunchtime and the streets were packed. I was feeling really good about myself when I suddenly had this thought— did I zip up my dress? It did feel a bit breezy in the back. I quickly ran my hand up the back of my dress and my worst fears were confirmed. Not only was the long zipper open but it was impossible for me to zip it up without help. So, I turned around and asked the girl behind me if she would help me.

 

My first reaction to this predicament was shock, which quickly changed into extreme embarrassment, and then morphed into me seeing the humor in the situation. I started laughing and the women behind me also began to laugh. I was no longer embarrassed but found the situation really, really funny.

 

I guess that if I had started the day thinking that it was going to be a horrible day, I would have had that experience for confirmation of my prediction. But since I assumed everything was going to go well for me, I got over this trauma quickly with a good laugh.

 

Things will happen. Whether it’s a good or bad day is often dependent upon what you tell yourself before the day even begins. Whether it’s a good day or bad day is also dependent upon your reaction when those things happen. You make the CHOICE to live a Resilient life.

 

Expecting the Best

I was dropping off my training materials to be printed at the store. The man working behind the counter recognized me since I’m probably one of their best customers. As he began to work on my project, we made small talk.

 

All of a sudden, the humming of the copier stopped. We both turned to stare at the machine. He quickly assessed the issue and with a scowl on his face, he stated, “I knew my day was going to be bad like this.” Concerned, I watched him start to work on the problem. His emotional response was so dramatic that I assumed that this was a very serious situation and the copier was out of commission. I asked him if I should come back later, since it sounded like this was not going to be a fast fix. But no— after a quick cartridge replacement, the copier was up and running.

 

The reaction from the worker didn’t jive with the minor problem that he faced.

 

I couldn’t help but notice the irony in the situation. There I was, having my training material on Resilience printed, while he so clearly demonstrated a lack of any ability to weather the teeny tiniest of storms. In his world, this was a big catastrophe. In a Resilient person’s world, this would not even measure a blip on the radar screen.

 

I suppose that if you wake up in the morning believing that the worst is going to happen and your day is really going to suck, the universe will give you that bad day that really sucks.

 

However, is the universe really responsible for your day? Things happen and you are in charge of your reactions to what the universe throws at you. You decide whether you want to receive it in a positive manner or not. You decide how you want to react and respond to what has transpired.

 

Last year, I was walking downtown in my favorite dress on a hot summer day. It was lunchtime and the streets were packed. I was feeling really good about myself when I suddenly had this thought— did I zip up my dress? It did feel a bit breezy in the back. I quickly ran my hand up the back of my dress and my worst fears were confirmed. Not only was the long zipper open but it was impossible for me to zip it up without help. So, I turned around and asked the girl behind me if she would help me.

 

My first reaction to this predicament was shock, which quickly changed into extreme embarrassment, and then morphed into me seeing the humor in the situation. I started laughing and the women behind me also began to laugh. I was no longer embarrassed but found the situation really, really funny.

 

I guess that if I had started the day thinking that it was going to be a horrible day, I would have had that experience for confirmation of my prediction. But since I assumed everything was going to go well for me, I got over this trauma quickly with a good laugh.

 

Things will happen. Whether it’s a good or bad day is often dependent upon what you tell yourself before the day even begins. Whether it’s a good day or bad day is also dependent upon your reaction when those things happen. You make the CHOICE to live a Resilient life.