When things don't go as planned...

I like plans.  And I have no problem changing things up, making a pivot or slowing down but it has to be MY idea not my body's idea!

Maybe you can relate.

At times, I can succumb to the fallacy of being in control vs. being in charge of my life.

Thinking life will unfold in a predictable way will inevitably create great stress when it doesn't go to plan.  That's not If it doesn't go to plan but WHEN it doesn't.

We aren't in control but we can be in charge.

As a firefighter and an officer, I had a daily schedule of training, chores and events to attend to.  Each shift was similar but different.  During the entire shift no matter what we were doing, when an emergency occurred, we stopped what we were doing and responded to the emergency. Once the emergency was handled on our end, we either returned to what we were doing or did something else.

The very nature of our work created clear permission to be interrupted, sidetracked and laid over.  There was no surprise, no shock and no grumbling (unless it was 4am :) Handling daily interruptions was the accepted pattern. 

In life, we tend to resist, push against or try to push through the situations that take us off our plan. 

This last month, I thought I would be having a simple straight forward single surgery.  That was the plan.

It didn't go to plan.

Instead of acting like a firefighter and handling emergencies or divergence, I found myself really wanting to resist.  As the beautiful and wise Byron Katie says when I resist what is, I lose, but only 100% of the time.

This isn't new for any of us.  I share it because it can sneak up on us.

We aren't in control.  We don't have a crystal ball to see into the future. There is no certainty.

Having a plan inspires me.  Holding it lightly, like a firefighter, knowing there will be something to knock me off my plan and that's expected feels comforting not daunting.   

As the ancient Greeks and Romans who created stoicism knew we don't have control over anything but us.  What happens in life is largely out of our control (we do have influence). 

How we respond to what happens to us is fully within our control.

Create your intentions for 2024 and when you find yourself resisting when things don't go as planned, be a firefighter and give yourself permission to go off that path and create a new one.

 big love,

shannon