respond, don’t react

Last night we were watching a leadership talk when the speaker mentioned that life (and the difficulties it can bring) is like medicine — whether it makes you better or not depends on whether you respond to it or react. If you react to life, that means something’s wrong inside you. If you respond, it can do you good, it can make you better.

A situation comes to mind from a couple of days ago where I saw this happen. Geoff, Mom and I were headed out of town in Geoff’s car when we started noticing that something was wrong. We pulled off the road into the parking lot of a local store to find that one of Geoff’s tires was completely flat. Not cool.

Dad’s office was just up the road, so we called him, and he came right away to take a look. There would be no more driving on it, not even to get back home, so Dad whipped out his tire-changing tools and the boys got to work.

And I learned some things about responding to life’s difficulties…

First thing to do: Smile.
It’s the best look for you in any situation.

Second: Figure out exactly what’s wrong and come up with an exact plan to make it better.

Third: Take immediate action on your plan.
In some cases this involves donuts.

Fourth: Begin with the source of the problem.

Fifth: If you’re not directly involved, your job is to just keep smiling.

Sixth: Sometimes small things that were once helpful will hold you back.
Don’t be afraid to change.

Seventh: Removing something familiar might feel awkward, but you can’t have two solutions in place at once.
The one that isn’t working has to go.

Eighth: When you have a good solution, even a temporary one, apply it and secure it tightly.
It will be tested.

Ninth: Keep smiling.

Tenth: Life’s a team effort. Let others help you.

Eleventh: Take pictures. You might want to remember it later.

Twelfth and most importantly: When faced with a difficulty, go to the people with the right tools for help.
They’ll be glad to come. And you’ll be glad you called them.

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