When things don’t go as planned…

I hope you had a great week!!

I wrote this blog on Wednesday because of two reasons:

• I am heading to WV tomorrow to visit a dear friend I haven’t seen in 2 years (therefore, I want to get caught up on work before I leave).

•  And, 2….because this week has already not gone how I had planned it out.

Let me take a slight step back.

On Sunday evenings, I usually sit down with a pad and paper and list out all the things I have coming up that week. 

Once my list is complete, I plug everything into my calendar so I know pretty much how my week will go.  (Crossing things off the list, crumpling, and throwing the paper away is always quite therapeutic! I know…I’m weird! LOL!)

This past Sunday was no different. 
I made my list.
I plugged them in.
Voila!
My week was set.

Or so I thought. 

Monday’s plan-
Take a friend to the airport
Eat breakfast, sip coffee, and do my daily journaling.
Do some work.
Eat lunch.
Go to doctor’s appt.
Go to the gym.
Go to dinner and the Peter Gabriel concert.

Pleasant enough, right?

Well, that is not how it went. 

It took over 4 hours to get to the airport! (I had forgotten it is UN week in NYC! Ugh!)
I was worried my friend was going to miss her flight and that I was going to miss my doctor’s appointment. 
Thankfully, she had TSA Clear, wasn’t checking a bag…and was used to walking very fast anyway (LOL); she made it to her gate on time.

When I battled the traffic back to my apartment, I had just enough time to take a swig of water, put in my AirPods to listen to a podcast, and hoof it to my doctor’s appointment. 
(Full disclosure- because of the test I was scheduled for, I could not drink caffeine 12 hours prior…so yes, I was caffeine-deprived and had a headache! Needless to say, I was a little cranky with my husband until after the appointment, when I could have some coffee.  Sorry about that, Greg!)

After I got home from my apartment, I inhaled some food and sat down to do some work. 

I was feeling very behind and frustrated, so I didn’t feel I had adequate time to go to the gym before heading out to dinner and the concert.  (In hindsight, I could’ve spared 30 minutes and probably would have felt better…but I didn’t see it at the time.)

We did go to the concert and had a great time…so it all ended well.

Tuesday’s plan-
Mammogram/ultrasound first thing.
Drink coffee/eat breakfast/do daily journaling.
Work for a few hours.
Go to the gym.
Another appointment.
Go to the grocery store.
Home to cook dinner.
Relax.

Well……the mammogram/ultrasound took 2 hours!
I’m not even sure why…it just did. 
THAT was not planned for.
Here we go again…I felt like I was playing catch-up again. 
Eating and working at the same time (therefore not eating intentionally).
Going to the gym, but watching the clock a bit.
Running to and through the grocery store.
Cooking dinner a little later than I like.
Settling to relax a little later than I like. 

And the icing on the cake is…the elevator in our building is broken, so every time I leave and come back, I have to climb 100+ stairs to get to my apartment (Thank God I am fit enough to do this! I’m choosing to believe that doing so is great for my legs and ass! LOL!)

So, why am I telling you this?
It’s not to bitch and complain.
It’s to remind you that this is life.
It is very unpredictable.

You don’t have to like everything that is thrown your way.

But you don’t have to negatively react to it.

What do I mean?

In the past, situations like these could throw me over the edge. 
I’d be so pissed off because things didn’t go as planned. 
I would go through my day a ball of anger…. getting snarky with my kids and husband, stomping around the house, saying, “fuck it, my day is ruined, so I might as well not bother doing anything else,” eating things I know don’t make me feel good or drinking in excess because I “deserved it” and it “made me feel better,” (total BS right there!), etc etc. 

I would take actions that neither helped anything nor made me feel good.  (I’m sure you know what I mean!)

Because I have learned how to manage my mind, and because I know life is supposed to be 50/50…that is not how I handle things anymore (if you can call that handling!). 

Even though these things were unplanned, and I felt rushed and a bit stressed out, I did not let them derail me. 

I know nothing is wrong with those feelings; they didn’t need to be “fixed.”
I know I can feel that way and not overeat or over-drink.
I know I can feel that way and still go to the gym and the grocery store and cook dinner.
I know I can feel that way and not take it out on the people around me.
(I know, I know…I said I was cranky with Greg…remember…I hadn’t had caffeine! I am human, after all!!)

All of these are skills that I have learned and choose to use!

When shit happens that you don’t like, you get to choose too!

You ALWAYS have a choice!

I am the Get Real coach for women; what you see is what you get.
Need help with the shit life throws at you?
Need help identifying your choices?
Click on the link to schedule your free 30-minute consultation.
I’d love to talk to you.

I live unapologetically me, and can help you live unapologetically YOU!

Xo,
Steph

As always, please feel free to leave any questions or comment
I’d love to hear from you.