Mental Preparation

How well do we prepare for unforeseen events that are not catastrophic but are sometimes hard to endure? I was reminded of this today as I sat in major traffic jams going to and from work.

The first was in the midst of light snow and icy conditions as the highway patrol extricated a semi that had jack-knifed and was blocking the pass to the next valley. Sitting several miles from the accident and creeping along, I had to keep reminding myself that I was trying to work on patience and that I needed to relax and just wait until things got moving. I had classical music playing on the radio and thought about more important matters than how delayed I was.

Coming home, I had left work early for an arranged date with my wife but was once again held up due to a major pile-up between a couple of semis and several cars. By the time I hit the backup, I was still miles away from the accident site. I knew it was going to be a long crawl home. I again reminded myself to be patient and enjoyed the music.

By the time I got home, I was too tired for the special outing we had planned, so we changed our plans and went out for a quiet dinner together. Though the evening wasn't the special event we had planned, it was still a nice time together. Despite the difficulties, my attitude had helped to slavage what could have been a terrible day.

If we aren't preparing ourselves to deal with disappointment and trials, we will not have the mental strength to say, "It's OK. I'll go on despite this." How are you trying to prepare yourself?

- Mark

Value is based on perception.