I read somewhere that the thing that you fight hardest against is the thing that seems to grow larger in your life and seems to never go away. Or something like that. In other words, the more energy you exert fighting something, the more the thing fights back.
In any case, you all know how I feel about business travel. Not one of my favorite things in the world to do. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I hate it. Every time my manager would mention that I had to go somewhere I would make a face and cringe on the inside. It always brought back memories of the days when I had to travel to Cambridge 2 days out of the week every week for almost three months. My kids were 12 and 16 then and leaving them for those 2 days and nights gave me anxiety attacks. Now they are older and not really a factor, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Early last year, I had to make a trip to S. Carolina to give a 5 minute presentation. I had to take two planes there and two planes back just to sit in a conference room and give a 5 minute presentation. Don’t ask me why I couldn’t have done it over the phone. These meetings were scheduled for once a quarter and it just really upset me that so much time and money was being wasted and I wasn’t quiet about it. It was driving me crazy. I was able to get out of the next meeting but I couldn’t escape the November meeting.
Since there was no escaping it I decided to stop fighting it. I was tired of being upset. I knew that if I couldn’t change it there was no point in being upset. I had to go. So, I put my attitude to the side and consciously made a decision to enjoy the trip. I still wasn’t thrilled about it but I wasn’t going to be upset anymore. During the November trip I discovered a huge outlet mall right near the office. Jackpot! In addition to the 5 minute presentation, I also attended an awards ceremony and an open house. The time was well spent.
I came home, not looking forward to the next trip but not dreading it either.
Fast forward to yesterday … I’m having a conversation with my manager and he informs me that it won’t be necessary for me to make any more trips to SC. Why? Because one of my colleagues is getting married and moving there and will be the resident Administrator in our SC office.
Ain’t love grand?
I find it fascinating that the minute I changed my attitude and decided to stop fighting these trips, I no longer had to take them. I never asked God to fix it so I wouldn’t have to travel, I accepted what was and kept it moving. But God knew my heart and gave me exactly what I wanted as soon as I stopped fighting. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:5-8:
Servants, respectfully obey your earthly masters but always with an eye to obeying the real master, Christ. Don't just do what you have to do to get by, but work heartily, as Christ's servants doing what God wants you to do. And work with a smile on your face, always keeping in mind that no matter who happens to be giving the orders, you're really serving God. Good work will get you good pay from the Master, regardless of whether you are slave or free. (The Message)
The way I see it, a good attitude will always get you further than a bad one.
5 comments:
That's awesome. I truly believe that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% our reaction to what happens. Looking for the silver lining (harder to spot) instead of the gray cloud (the first thing you see). Changing our attitude works miracles on our perception.
Great post!
A good attitude goes a LONG way. :)
This is something I struggle with but Im working on my reaction to different situations and other people's actions. I have gotten better but still not where I want to be. I will get there!!
Love it! I've had this experience; one with a love interest and the other with life in general. With the love interest, I used to deny, deny, deny; feeling like Bill Clinton at his impeachment hearing. In Dec 09, I wrote him off; literally; though I never sent the letter and it was a very freeing moment. Though, he's back in my life, but this sime just platonically, I do feel so much better. In life, I've always been one who'll smile instead of crying and even though it hurt to keep that smile on my face; it kept the nosey people out of my business and left me with the sustained energy to keep moving on.
The scripture footnote is perfect.
Outstanding share!
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