At the desk, 7:36 a.m.
I realize that's not much of a crisis for you. And, seriously, it's not like the snow affects my morning commute. But it always seems like the snow shakes my mind and spirit to their core. I mean SNOW!! A lot of snow!!
Of course, living in Denver, it's pretty common for there to be snow in April. In fact, the most common weather is for it to be warm and gorgeous and dump snow the next day. So we were pretty lucky to get an in between day like yesterday. Yesterday it was mostly gloomy.
And it's been gorgeous here. Clear, warm, and very very dry. Many of our neighbors have already turned on their watering systems.
"We really need the moisture." <--people chant this like a mantra.
Now, let's pause for a moment. What am I'm talking about? What is everyone talking about when we spend so much time talking about the weather?
Personally, I think we're talking about sudden change that's out of our control. Let's go through it again.
Sunday, it was 80 degrees and gorgeous. We planted trees in our backyard.
Yesterday, it was gloomy, dark and a little foreboding even.
Today, it's snowing.
That's a fairly shocking change that doesn't is absolutely and completely out of my control. How I deal with the snow reflects how I deal with change. My personal change style is to sit back, watch what's going on, then respond. If I'm in my wisest mind, rather than my freak-out mind, I focus on what I can control and let the rest sort itself out.
We live in the middle of an enormous national and global change. Economies are changing. The weather is changing. Everything is changing.
I think the trick to staying remotely sane right now is to focus on what is within your control. What can you do about...? If your email in-box is like mine, you get 'calls to action' every single hour from people who want me believe that their priorities are my responsibility. For each of them, I ask myself - "Can I do anything about this now?" Usually the answer is "No."
I do anything about the snow. I can't do anything about a lot of things in this world.
But I can send out Sunflower Seeds to help feed the bees something other than pesticides. I can raise money for girls who are trying to change their lives. I can attempt to be the finest person I know how to be. I can encourage others to be their best.
And when I focus on what I can do, I feel better. I'm able to create change in my life and help others.
But first, I have to get over my own panic over the fact that it's snowing today.
What's your change style? How do you return your focus to what's within your control?
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