We canceled that presentation! I was looking forward to giving that talk. Now, what do I do with all of this content?

Where does your mind go when there is a change in plans? Do you start cussing like a sailor? This I write for myself. I had a change that I needed to work through. Here is what I learned.

Thoughts

A few years ago we moved our family from Iowa to Pennslyvania. During this process, my wife and I thought of this as a new adventure. Our kids weren’t so sure. Although now they would probably agree it has been good.

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so” — Hamlet Act 2 Scene 2

Our initial reaction can often be, “Oh this sucks.” We can fail to see the benefits. Even better step back and take it all in.

We expected sunshine and rainbows and got rain. In agile techniques, we learn to iterate. Try something different. Life is more iterative than sequential.

Questions

The questions we ask about what happens to us can determine our outlook. Why me? Michael Hyatt reminds us to ask a different question. What would this make possible?

Next time someone changes your plans. Or you get dealt a professional blow. Ask yourself this question. See the possibilities.

Amor Fati

The Stoics have a phrase Amor Fati which means to love our fate. Instead of Why did this happen to me? Ask how can learn and enjoy this.

My formula for greatness in a human being is Amor fati: that one wants nothing to be different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it But Love It. — Friedrich Nietzsche

Look at the disappointments as training just as you wouldn’t show up to a marathon without training. Our life needs training as well. Embrace it!

Look Forward

A change is an opportunity. We can see it that way. Or we can see it as a burden. Why can we go back?

Look forward with hope not backward with regret.

If we keep looking backward we miss the new doors opening in front of us. Better things could be up ahead if we look. Too often though we keep remembering the “good old days”…

Reflect

Reflection doesn’t come easy for me. I want to move on to the next thing. David Marquet talks about this in Leadership is Language. He details how we do Redwork-the doing and Blue Work-the thinking.

In the book, David discusses how important they are in making progress. He walks us through the Industrial Revolution where workers did Redwork. The managers did the blue work. Today knowledge workers must do both.

In closing, we need to be ready for change. Enjoy the process of learning and adapting. There is value in the reflection we take from it.