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GO AHEAD, MAKE MY DAY
Monday May 13, 2019
Focus is great, I mean really focused, until derailed.
I mean really derailed.
Moment of clarity last week. Not so much ‘ah+ha moment’ as smack to forehead realization stress, fatigue and ‘simple mistake’ can collide. Not catastrophic, but cumulative. When that happens to me I make mistakes. Not massive errors in judgements or public faux paus events, just mistakes.
Disheartening, derailed , deflated …
Was Tuesday morning, which for me are usually a study in exhaustion (publishing FACILITYCalgary every Tuesday morning usually means a late Monday night, short sleep and early start) as I wrestled with too many negatives, not enough positives. Then some things happened.
I’m not a subscriber to ‘universe conspiring’ philosophy, but if you are a believer in that mantra, this day might prove a great example.
First, I was working on my first cup of coffee when an email arrived from someone who gets my Monday Morning Minute publication. The comment I got from someone I’ve never met, someone on the other side of the country, about the previous day’s Minute, so for context, here it is:
Monday May 6, 2019 - 100 words + a quote … MONDAY MORNING MESSAGE
We can easily determine who we are by watching what we’ve done – because our actions reveal us, show others who we really are, often much better or in direct contradiction to what we’ve projected in terms of who we are. Contradiction is easily deflected, but ignored at our peril. We are who we are. But we are of diminishing value to others when there exists this kind of disconnect between what we reveal to the world and what is deep within us. Being true to ourselves and transparent with others is like having good posture – it shows. Everyone sees it.
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Quote for today: What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become achieving your goals. – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Their reply/comment was this:
Good morning Mark, I have to tell you I really enjoy your Monday mornings quote but especially yesterday, I had to read it a few times because it hit me on a personal level and professionally. It made me think about my life and who is in my life and how they can show us who they are by there actions. I love what you said about being true to ourselves and transparent with others is like a good posture. Thank you, You made my day today.
And now someone made mine ….
Second, I moved into my little writing room and opened the curtains to reveal a fabulous sight. Not just the parking lot, not just a perfect blue sky, but two deer – two does. They were browsing in the grass where Gusta and I had just walked on our morning constitutional.
Third, I got another email from a Breakfast Club friend who found my Minute inspiring.
Fourth, I got an email from a prospective new client wanting information from me …
All this before 8AM, all before my ‘morning routine’ had a chance to start.
Sometimes when at odds with the world, when things seem to be ‘not going so well’, a collision (in our head) of unconnected events can right the foundering ship, can steer the better course for us.
Life is Plan A or Plan B.
Just because Plan A doesn’t work smoothly every day doesn’t mean it isn’t the best plan – it simply means life is full of ups and downs, sharp curves and canyons of despair between mountain tops.
If all else fails, see Plan B.
Reader feedback:
Interesting column Mark. This comes at a time in my life where I am questioning past choices and challenging current ones. Are our choices really ours to make? Are they not dictated by other people and situations to some degree? Loyalty, financial issues, societal pressures and mores? What is the ‘right’ choice? Is there a right one? Who decides? High heels for instance were originally designed for and worn exclusively my men to keep their feet in the stirrups of the saddle. Later it was a sign of stature and male dominance. In the medieval period they were worn jointly by men and women to stay above trash and excrement in the street. Now heels are pretty well exclusively women’s shoes. What is right for women today, would not have been accepted hundreds of years ago. So is choice perhaps a question of timing? Food for thought, HC, Sherwood Park, AB
I appreciated today's musing. I've been working on yes instead of no, and no instead of yes, GB, Waukesha, WI
That was great 6000th Musing. Perfect for the occasion. Congratulations, Mark. Looking forward to the next 6000, RT, Vancouver, BC
6000 musings. To read the thoughtful ruminations of a man. Inspired. Committed. Resilient. Giver. It makes you think that ‘the present is perfect’. Happiness is exactly where we are, right here, in this thoughtful moment. ‘Your life is now’. John Mellancamp sings. Right now X 6000. JF, Calgary, AB
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