Something Will Happen…
Don’t panic! The Beatles can help.
Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash
It’s happened to you…
The tyre goes flat. In the rain. At night. Miles from anyone or anything and your mobile battery dies.
The last shuttle to the aeroport leaves 5-minutes early and you miss the last plane off the island for the week.
You stay up all night finishing that super-important report- you know… the one that’ll make your career blow up… and then your computer screen goes black and even the tech people can’t save it for you.
The bus you are on breaks down and you have no way to get to work, or to the gig, or to your mom’s place, or wherever you needed to be half an hour ago.
Sh*t Happens
All the time to all of us… thankfully it’s usually not a continual onslaught. But when it does, it can truly suck.
In those moments it can feel as though all the life force has been yanked outta yah and you want to sink to the ground and weep or yell or both. (my general preference).
Don’t get me wrong- pounding the dirt will help for about 2 minutes. Then you’ve got to pick yourself up, take a couple of deep breaths, say “f#ck a few times and then adopt the most useful and positive mind-shift I’ve heard.
“Something will happen.”- Sir Paul McCartney
It’s True!
Something will happen!
You won’t know what until it happens, and once it happens you will see it and then have some options.
Once the “Something” happens, you can choose what to do next.
And in fact…
The thing that JUST happened was a “Something”, and you already have some options about what to do next.
But what SHOULD I do?
I recommend starting with 3 deep exhales. Don’t worry- inhales will follow naturally.
Then take a moment to look around you. Really! Turn in a circle and see where you are and what is nearby.
Then assess what your immediate NEED is. This is not the same as a desire.
Then name, OUT LOUD, what the first 3 physical actions you need to take are to get that need met.
Now do action #1. This might be making a list, bandaging something, calling someone or looking for the nearest petrol station or sign of civilisation.
Repeat with actions #2 and #3.
Then assess again what the next 3 actions you need to take are and continue like that until helps arrives, you are safe, the computer is fixed, the tyre is changed, the plane is boarded or your Mom has stopped yelling at you for being late.
Remember…
No matter what the cause, or event. No matter how bad it is, something else is always going to happen and that changes the situation. It happens every day to all of us- most times we don’t notice because things seem to be humming along.
