We all have to deal with the unexpected at work and in life. It is how we choose to respond to these obstacles that shifts the outcome. The following is a personal story to illustrate my point. If you came with us on this beach trip, how would you have reacted?
Trip to the Beach
It took some convincing but my mom reluctantly agreed to go to the beach. Ever since COVID started, my mom has refused to go anywhere, even after being fully vaccinated. She is the most comfortable at home. She doesn’t like surprises and lately she seems to see the negative in every situation. My dad wanted to take her to the beach but she has refused many times. Now that I was visiting for a week, she finally agreed and lamented that dad and I were gaining up on her.
It was going to a great day. We fueled up the night before. We bought two foot long subways so lunch was covered. Their neighbors even decided to come along meeting us at 9am for the 70 min drive to Freeport, Texas.
My mom is 77 years old and will reject all new ideas. Going to the beach was no exception. While she agreed to go two days earlier, she also brought up what may go wrong a few times a day. It has became her way to cope in her older age.
The morning started out great. The neighbors came by on time and we were off. The GPS said one hour and 7 min to destination. We would be in Freeport Texas by 10:15am or we thought.
Unexpected event #1
Well life never seems to work out the we plan. 45 min into the drive, I checked ETA on my phone only to see massive traffic ahead. It says we have another hour to drive. What?! And the map had pretty much all red lines ahead even thought we were only 8 miles away. My dad was driving and he couldn’t believe it when I told him. My mom immediately jumped in to tell us we should just turn back now and go home. 10 min later, we were in a one lane traffic going 5 miles an hour. 🙁
While it wasn’t great, my dad and I decided to cheer my mom on. We were not in a rush anyways so why not enjoy the scenery while we drove slowly. She protested at first but since she saw we were firm to keep going, she relented.
Unexpected event #2
An hour later we finally got to Freeport only to not know how we can access the beach with our car. I took a guess and we took a turn that went off road a bit. My mom protested again as she think the car will be damaged by the uneven road. Again she told us we should probably just drive home. We really only drove on it for 2 min before realizing it won’t access the beach. We stopped to talked to the neighbor that drove behind us. They were in very positive spirits. We decided to get back to the main road and keep going to find the beach access.
Beach access took another 15 minutes to find. At first every road we passed said no access to beach. I even thought of turning around but my dad said let’s ask the officers on the road. There was a police car blocking the road that said access to beach. He said we can keep going. There are 5 roads up ahead that can access the beach. We were delighted as finally we were close. We have now been driving 2.5 hours.
Unexpected event #3 & 4
Soon after speaking to the officer, we found an open road that said access to beach. We were now driving on the beach and couldn’t believe how crowded it already was. There were cars parked all next to each other with tents set up next to it. We thought going to Freeport would help us avoid traffic and the crowds.
We decided to keep going to see if it gets a bit less crowded. It did after driving another 10 minutes however it started to rain vigorously on the beach. We didn’t see any forecast of rain. My mom of course said to us how unlucky we were and we should just go home.
We both said to her don’t worry it will pass. I didn’t actually know how long the rain would be there but it seemed logical to say it was temporary. The beach also started to show some spacing between cars so we finally parked. It was 11:45am 80 degrees windy and rainy.
We Chose to See the Positive
The air however was very refreshing and the showers subsided soon after we stepped out of the car to greet our neighbors. They were smiling and just commented on how crowded this beach is. I guess it was Memorial Day weekend. Most families had the same idea to celebrate at the beach.
The wind started out strong so we wrapped ourselves with towels and hoodie as we enjoyed the fresh air and slight moisture in the air. My mom stepped out as well although reluctantly. We didn’t really give her a choice. We just kept saying how great it would be to get out in the fresh air since we came all this way.
What We Did at the Beach
Now what?! I thought. We were planning to walk on the beach and then find somewhere to sit and have lunch. However, the wind was strong. No one knew what to do. I decided to motivate everyone by taking some fun pictures.
I have a tradition of taking jump shots at every vacation spot I visit. My sister in law started it back in 2010 when we went to Miami together. She said “let’s jump like cheerleaders” and take pictures. While it seemed silly, it was also super fun. The amazing thing was if the camera was positioned close to the ground and facing upwards, then the picture would come out looking like we are jumping champions. Even if I only jumped a little off the ground, it looked spectacular in photos.
Will Others Jump with Me?
I wasn’t sure anyone else would do it with me. The neighbors are in their late 60s and my parents are in their late 70s. I figured I would just do some solo jumps and then go from there. Once I started asking my dad to take these shots, we all ended up taking turns, even my mom. While she didn’t jump off the ground, she just lifted one leg up and it looks great on photos. Their neighbors did more of an attempt to jump. The pictures were awesome and everyone was now laughing. See for yourself!
The rest of the trip turned out really well. The wind subsided a bit while we took photos and then we decided to walk the beach for an hour before going home. It was a beautiful day of walking and taking fun photos. We ate our subway happily in the car while dad drove us home. There was little traffic going home. We got home mid afternoon and I quickly shared our fun photos with our families in China.
So What?
The reason I share this story with you is to show there are many ways to deal with unexpected situations. You can choose to lament or get angry at unexpected situations or you can accept them as is and find the positive.
While this story I shared was a personal one, there are similarities to the difficult situations we deal with at work. When things happen that are unexpected and feels negative, will we give in to that negativity or can we find the silver lining for ourselves and perhaps even everyone around us?
We all have the power to choose a positive perspective and take action that inspires ourselves and others to look for the good. It is up to us to chose to use this power instead of letting circumstances beat us down. Next time you encounter a difficult situation at work, remember you have a choice in how you perceive the situation and how you deal with it. You can find the gift in every situation and make the most of it.
Your comments: Can you related to this story? I look forward to your comments.
Your comments: Do you have an inner voice that tells you that you are not enough? Do you where it comes from and how to ignore it? I look forward to hearing from you.
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Lei