Be Thankful

I had what in some instances might be considered a tough day on Sunday – It wasn’t really tough in the scheme of things – stuff just didn’t work out the way I’d planned, or hoped.  I was trying to get to another city  on the west coast for work– a 5.5 hour flight and I’d arranged to go early to both enjoy the day a little, and take some stress of travelling off.

Here’s what happened – I’d gotten up at 5am, and made my way through a mild snowstorm into the airport for an 08:00 flight.  They downgraded the airplane, made me do the extra security check, and couldn’t give me a seat until 25mins to departure, where I got the very last row.  Then the flight delayed.  Then the flight cancelled.  Then I couldn’t get re-booked, even though there were 3 more non-stops that day, and countless connections.  Flights were operating poorly all over the place due to the weather, even though my situation was mechanical in nature.  I ended up getting a 12:10 flight, but again due irregular ops at the airport, that plane was actually was scheduled to leave at 3:45 and eventually took off at 4pm.

But here’s why I was thankful – I made it, the plane didn’t crash, I ended up not sitting in the last row, I was able to do some preparation work while I waited and I felt better about the week’s tasks as a result.  What it costs me was some anxiety, and about 8 hours of my time, which truth be told I was going to try to enjoy casually – so nothing really lost.

I decided to be thankful rather than wound up as it made my day easier to deal with.  I tried to think consciously and positively, and appreciated the various assistance that was offered to me by others in the airport.  I don’t want to get all preachy here, but I would offer that I’m not sure what I’d have gained by being very angry and upset- I did see those people all day, and it didn’t work out well for them.

What I had reinforced from this was that some time things don’t go as planned, the situation often and frequently looks dire, and our response to it governs our experience.  But, you’ll get through it. I did.  My day wasn’t bad, and I hope I’m smart enough to have the same reaction next time.