By Talya Flowers
October seemed like the perfect month for implementing a new plan, especially with all this nice weather we have been experiencing where I live in Ohio. One day, I was at work and I stooped down to help tie a child’s shoelace. The sun hit my eyes. I smiled. Then a light bulb went off in my head—instead of trying to plan when I would go to the gym (I wasn’t having much luck), I would start walking.
I daydreamed, and thought that tomorrow would be the perfect day to walk to work. I was prepared. I could do it. I visualized my success. I saw myself getting out of bed early, eating a great breakfast, and leaving the house in time for my morning walk. And I felt deeply how I would feel after achieving my goal. It’s only 45 minutes, I reasoned.
My morning began exactly how I imagined. I left the house on time, everything was perfect. I even had time to praise myself for how much gas I would save.
Except, I forgot for one small detail: I hadn’t checked the weather.
I stepped outside the townhouse, and I could smell the rain. So, I ran back inside to get my umbrella. Then I heard the sky grumble. I wasn’t frightened because I knew that I could do it. I took one step, and soon I started walking toward my job. As the rain held, I became more and more confident. “Look at me,” I thought. Then 20 minutes into my walk, there was a light drizzle. I pulled out my umbrella, happy, of course, that I ran back to go get it.
From a drizzle, the rain turned into a downpour. I was determined to keep a positive attitude, although, I was becoming increasingly wet. By that time, it was too late to turn around. So, I stopped at the nearest gas station to get some plastic bags to cover my sneakers.
The bags didn’t hold.
Thirty minutes into my walk, the umbrella stopper broke.
I literally had to hold the umbrella open the whole time.
What a picture: me, moving through the rain like molasses, body completely soaked, and right arm cramping from holding the umbrella open. Then I took a wrong turn. At this point, I had two options: I could worry or laugh. I laughed and continued to reroute myself so that I could get to work on time.
I tell you this story because it is an example of how I keep a positive perspective.
So I want to share with you 5 reasons why this is important:
1. Worry does not solve problems but magnifies them.
By worrying, my situation would not have been any better. Worrying was not going to make the rain stop or suddenly cause my umbrella to be fixed. In fact, it could’ve caused a Tsunami or my umbrella could’ve blown away.
2. Laughter causes us to look through different lenses.
Sometimes a situation looks bleak but there is always something to be grateful for. I have realized that when I focus on a challenge, that challenge grows bigger and bigger. If I decide to change my focus on to something more positive, the challenge seems to always disappear.
3. Think of that awesome story you can tell your friends and family.
“Oh my goodness, you won’t believe what I just did,” is a great introduction to a juicy or funny story. Use it. We can’t be ashamed of our story. Tell everyone that you fought with the rain (or whatever obstacle you’ve faced) and won—you survived.
4. Each step taken in adversity makes achieving a goal much sweeter.
I could’ve given up on my trip, but I guess I wanted to prove to myself that I could make a commitment and stick with it. Adversity is going to come; ultimately, it is our decision whether we are going to learn how to push past the rain to get to the goal that we’ve outlined for ourselves.
5. There is always better weather ahead.
Once the rain subsides, the sun always comes back out.
Next time it rains in your life, think of me -w hether it’s real rain or the metaphorical kind. My hope is that we continue to push forward to achieve the goal(s) that we’ve set out for ourselves.
The best part of the story is when I made it to the door of my workplace. I entered in the code, closed my umbrella, and I stepped inside, allowing the door to slam behind me. Every part of me was soaked. With the amount of water that I wrung out of my socks, I could completely fill a 32-oz water bottle. I laughed. Then I put my shirt, socks, and sneakers into the dryer at work.
I learned something valuable that day: if I can make it in the rain, I can make it through anything.
