One of the best worst days of my life

Saturday was one of the days where I’m thankful I put in all the work I do to my mental health and my coaching models. I honestly faced the greatest series of tests and enjoyed the results, read on to find out more about my best / worst day. 

I woke due to travel to my next city destination - Buenos Aires. The sky was grey but I was in good spirits to see a new place after a great month in Santiago. I’d made new friends! seen incredible places and eaten and drunk some new Chilean specialities. 

I left my apartment on time and stood outside waiting for my Uber. I even got to say goodbye to one of my flatmates as he returned from breakfast which was great. 

At that point I felt an odd, oozing sensation running down my neck. Like an egg had been thrown at me. Sadly it wasn’t actually an egg. It was in fact the largest bird “deposit” in history. Like a WW2 strafing run, I was literally painted from my head to the back of my legs. Including my backpack and traveling outfit, which instantly turned purply grey and adopted a pungent fruity odour. Everywhere I touched was wet and sticky. 

At this point a group of passers by stopped their car and offered me some water and tissues, by pouring water all over me and dabbing at my face and clothes. So now I’m wet, have parts of wet tissue all over me and have shit dripping everywhere. 

My Uber arrived and he also started dousing me with his water bottle. I’m delving into my suitcase grabbing a towel and wiping myself off whilst trying to fight off two overzealous fire fighter wannabes with their makeshift water cannons, using my school boy spanish skills and trying not to be too ungrateful.

After cleaning up as best I could and changing on the side of the street, I jumped into the Uber and we headed to the airport. As chance would have it, (I’ve been in Latin America for over a year) I have never had an accident - until then. At a junction! As we set off, a car jumped a red light and ran straight into our rear door, spinning our car around. Thankfully nothing too serious but my already sore arm (from another incident) was bruised a little more and means I may be on painkillers for a few days. 

Finally after much roadside ado and some very fast Chilean Spanish (no entiendo mucho) and wild gesticulation, we got back into our newly crinkle-cut and squeaky vehicle and made it to the airport. I had considered ordering another Uber but a combination of shock, and the fact that my driver clearly needed the fair to help pay for repairs, meant I stuck with him. 

Thank goodness I’d checked in online and got my boarding pass though. I only needed to drop my bag off. But of course, as I approach the desk, my worst fears came true as I learned that the flight was closed with no hope of sneaking on. So that day I also missed my first ever flight. 

What did I do when the man at check in said I couldn’t fly? Well initially I saw red, then black and many other colours. I was dizzy, exhausted from the adrenaline, and I pleaded and begged for them to let me through - showing my boarding pass. I experienced a flood of grief cycle emotions. Disbelief, anger, negotiation, sadness all at the same time. 

Then I stopped - almost by autopilot my mental models kicked in. It was like a smarter, better driver was taking over my body and mouth. I thanked the man for his news, and sat down in a self imposed time out to think. I noted my emotions and labelled them all. Asking myself what was really happening. Often when we experience struggle we fail to see what is REALLY happening and just play the victim. That doesn’t help!! It was important to observe my feelings and see the real situation. 

I focussed on my rational response and totted up what was positive so far today, what could be reframed, and what could I do to be in control of the situation again?

- Apparently being deposited on by a bird is good luck in some cultures. I was being blessed for my journey! And clothes can be washed. 

- Two people had immediately tried to help me with my bird induced predicament; showing the generosity and kindness of Chileans. 

- I was alive although a little cut and bruised, it could have been a LOT worse. I walked away from a car crash. 

- Yes I missed a flight but thankfully it was a semi-flexible ticket and could be changed for the next flight. And there were spaces available. It’s not the airline’s fault I was late. 

- I could rejig my plan to enjoy another “last day” in Santiago sipping nice wine and eating empanadas with friends. 

- I could call my Airbnb hosts in Buenos Aires and tell them what had happened. They had told me they were due to be attending a medical appt and were worried about being around to give me the keys. Amazingly they kindly offered to refund that nights’ stay - which offset the extra shuttle costs I incurred doing another round trip to the airport. 

I reached out to an amazing friend who offered me a bed for the night, as my previous accommodation was soon be occupied by the next RY nomad in Santiago. And I spent the rest of the day snoozing, watching movies and drinking excellent Chilean wine. 

Would I have reacted like this a year ago? Definitely not. I would have sunk into a despair and been miserable for days. I would probably have cancelled my trip and gone somewhere else because the universe was “clearly against” me going to Buenos Aires. I would have looked at the situation through a lens of these unrelated events somehow being correlated and conspiring against me. 

Now, I am stronger, more resilient and able to separate emotions and reality. I’m able to find the positive in most situations and leverage my mood with that positive. 

To me, it shows that all this coaching and positivity stuff really does work. I also find that sharing and writing stuff down it helps with lifting my mood - so here you are. Thanks for reading along along and I encourage you all to stay and try to always find the positive even at the worst of times! This was a huge moment of realisation and sense of strength for me. 

It takes practice however. Any mental muscle needs to be exercised like a physical one. If you were betting in two people running a race, would you back the person who trained, or the person with no training to have the stamina and fitness to win? 

There will always be bad days but you can control a LOT of your reaction to them and how the situation works out for you. I’m by no means perfect, but I am living proof that you can keep looking for the positive even on the worst of days, and see the difference in how you view and experience life.