Have you ever noticed when one thing goes sideways, it seems like EVERYTHING feels negative?
The other day a client called and said they STILL could not pay my invoice (over 2 months late at this point) because of some internal administrative issues.
I was fuming.
I’m out several thousand dollars to a vendor I have already paid in conjunction with this engagement, plus, as a solopreneur, I rely on client income to cover my day-to-day bills.
If I’m being really honest, I was also probably a little pissed that I had delivered what they described as a great workshop, and yet, they still couldn’t get their act together to take care of my invoice.
I left my home office in a bit of a huff and it seemed nothing was going my way.
❌ It felt like I hit every single red light on my way to my next appointment.
❌ And, what was it, a full moon or something? Why was everyone driving like an idiot?
❌ And, of course, to just top off my day, a train was coming RIGHT when I was trying to cross the tracks.
I could feel my breaths getting shorter, my hands were white-knuckling the steering wheel and there was a shooting pain in my right hip.
What was going on?
I was VERY busy looking for what was wrong instead of what was right. I walked out my front door fully triggered which, according to Healthline, impacted my ability to be present.
Did I miss every red light and was everyone an idiot on the road? Likely not – I was so angry about my client, that I was projecting onto my environment. And, while the train guards did indeed come down, it didn’t have any other meaning than a train was coming, which, by the way, passed momentarily.
I was looking for things to be negative / bad / out of sorts. So, they were. How do you get out of that state? A few things helped me that day.
➕ Once I got to my destination, I took several deep breaths
➕ Then, I took some time to focus on a few things that I was grateful for that day
➕ Before I went in for my next appointment, I walked around the block, stretched my arms over my head, and rolled my neck around.
Once you get back to a neutral state – you get to choose. Will you look for what is wrong or what is right?
All of this came to light, thanks to a compelling conversation Sherry and I had with Willow Older and Deborah Huber on the#perfectlyimperfect podcast.
Deborah and Willow have written a great book called Today I Noticed which invites us all into the present, noticing what is all around us. In our conversation, they reminded us: you find what you are looking for.
So, start with some intention – what do you want to find? Check out the episode here, or wherever you listen to podcasts. https://lnkd.in/gZtGBx_8
