Have you ever had a 'Murphy's Law' kind of day? One of those days that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong? It can be quite a challenge to overcome, but it can be done. I recently experienced one of these days… and I knew from the moment I awoke. Just a gut feeling. It started by getting up later than planned with many 'to-do's' on my daily list that looked something like this…
 
Make breakfast for the kids
Take the dogs out
Feed the dogs
Morning meetings
Write articles
Wait for the handyman to come fix the leak in the roof
Pick son up from camp
Get my son, that was currently at camp, ready for his next camp that started in 2 days
Find his camping trunk
Find his 5 camp uniforms that were somewhere between my house and his dads
Get his immunization records from his old doctor
Get him to Urgent Care for a last minute 'sports physical' (required for camp)
Visit my mom whom I hadn't seen for three weeks
The list goes on…
 
My brain was in chaos, jumping from one thing to the next. In the midst of rushing around trying to get all of this done, things kept creeping in, going wrong. Example: I hit a pothole while rushing to the doctor and busted out the sidewall in two tires ($$$). Several times, I was on the verge of tears and/or ready to scream at the world. Most days I would have, but I had prepared myself that morning when I had the first inkling that it would be a rough day.
 
Some may say by having the thought, I was creating my own bad luck, but I view it otherwise. On this day, by accepting my intuition, I was able to steel myself in positivity. I told myself that no matter what the day would bring, I needed to remain positive. And it WORKED!
 
I kept a smile on my face. I was polite to everyone I encountered. I tried to do one thing at a time (though didn't slow myself down enough to avoid two popped tires). And , most importantly, I remained grateful. Here's how…
 
I normally hate cancelled meetings, yet my morning meetings were cancelled for which I was grateful given my load that day
Though my roof still needed fixed, I was thankful that the rain had stopped
The handyman had to change days which is normally a pain but I was happy because it lightened my load on that day
I busted the walls of two tires, but I was bigtime grateful that it was right around the corner from a tire center
The tire center had 2 tires of the right size in stock for which I was truly thankful as I drive a VW so that's not always the case
They were also able to fit me in right away and change/rotate the tires within 30 minutes which I really appreciated
The tire center was around the corner from the Doctors office so I was thrilled that I could walk there while I waited for the tires
The nurse at the doctor's office was extremely empathic to my plight and not only provided the immunization records but completed his 'sports physical' paperwork based on his last annual physical (don't worry, it was less than a year). Amazing!
My kids knew my struggles that day and jumped into help, quickly finding the uniforms, camping trunk, and helping with the dogs. True blessing.
My significant other knew of all of my rushing around that day and took care of dinner plans for me. Delight!
 
By the end of the day, I was tired but still smiling, grateful for the small successes and little blessing. Thankful for empathic individuals and loved ones in my life. Though cloudy days will come, though terrible events may happen (much worse than mine on this day), there is always something to be happy about. Focus on the positive and love life!!
 
Watch the Ted Talks: Neil Pasricha: The 3 A's of awesome for inspiration.
Attitude…Awareness…Authenticity