The Best Laid Plans
“We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.”? - Epictetus ?
The plans had been in place for weeks.? In fact, there had been a countdown of sorts; three weeks to go, two, one.? On the day before, I attended to some last minute details, made a few calls, and finalized the draft of this week’s newsletter.? I couldn’t have been more ready.? Then that sneezing fit that had occurred twice earlier in the day hit again.? Could it be?? Nah, but let’s just test and make sure.? Needless to say, you know what came next; the two lines appeared - I have Covid, and the surgery for the new knees will need to be rescheduled.?? ?
There was a time when this situation would have sent me right over the edge.? The test results would have been met with a string of profanity, heightened blood pressure and a general sense of anger.? Avoiding me for at least 24 hours would have been a good recommendation.? Interestingly, none of that occurred this time.? Why?? I’ve grown and come to embrace the quote above; I’ve learned to respond rather than react.
Brad Stulberg is the bestselling author of The Practice of Groundedness, co-author of Peak Performance and a frequent contributor to the NY Times, Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine.? He suggests that the difference between reacting and responding is more of a timing factor.? When we react, we initially panic and then proceed.? The reaction is quick and unprocessed.? However, when we respond we employ a four-step process; Pause, Process, Plan and then Proceed.? Responding provides time and space to let our emotions subside and better understand what is happening.? This enables us to plan, make decisions or choices and then move forward accordingly.
Our days are filled with opportunities to react or respond.? Likewise we are continually called upon to make choices; sometimes we call them decisions.? Many are important and carry significance, while others are small and seem inconsequential.? But they all matter!? Even when we make the choice to do nothing, we are still making a choice!? Hence, whatever we do or don’t do today will impact our lives tomorrow, and the great thing is we can learn from it and use that knowledge to guide our future choices.
While we can not choose our external circumstances, we must acknowledge that we may have helped create them through the choices we make.? Perhaps the week prior to surgery I should have limited my social interactions, perhaps I should have been more cognizant of hand washing, perhaps I should have stayed away from the gym…perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.? That’s no way to live.? We make choices, and those choices shape our lives.
Tomorrow (Monday), I will be faced with numerous opportunities, many of them being situations I control.? At the same time there will be circumstances over which I have limited influence (such as the rescheduling of the surgery I missed).? My challenge this week is simple; to bring my best self forward, regardless of the situation or circumstance, and respond in a manner that will make the Wolfpups proud.? After all, this week is going to be nothing more than a challenge to embrace! ?
Embrace the Challenge