My Ill-Fated Trip to Staples and A Lesson in Flexibility

I belong to an awesome local networking group for women. They were going to host a function and planned on handing out some goodie bags. I promised them I would have something to include and had the idea to offer a certificate for a free coaching session. To make good on that promise, I needed some gift cards and envelopes. I quickly jumped into the car to make my run to Staples, and after much deliberation, found what I needed. I was so excited to make these. I had the perfect template already made and was ready to crank them out.

Life doesn’t always go according to plan and this was one of these cases. As soon as I got home, I turned on the printer and started attempting to print. I say attempting because nothing worked! I got the wrong cards. They were too thick to print properly in my machine. No matter what setting I used, they simply wouldn't go through the printer. That meant going back to Staples to see if they could print the gift certificates on the card stock I had already bought. So, I saved my template onto a USB drive and started over.

I got into the car with what I thought was everything I needed for my run and, off I was! I turned the Satellite Radio to the 80’s channel, windows open, wind blowing in my hair and smile on my face. As soon as I parked the car and got ready to walk into Staples I facepalmed! I had forgotten the ONE thing I needed: the USB drive! AAAARGH!

Watch your inner dialog

You should have heard the things that went through my head. A sailor would have been embarrassed to hear what I was saying to myself. I’ve been getting better about my inner dialog, but there are still moments like these when my inner wench comes out. The good news is that I’ve become much more aware of my self-speech in the last few years and have been practicing shutting my evil twin down. I literally said STOP IT! Then, I took a breath and found my center again, avoiding a trip down the rabbit hole of self-deprecation. How do you catch your inner dialog. Are you even aware of the thoughts that go through your mind? When you are, whose voice do you hear and how has it served you? 

Allow others to help you along the way

So, I got back in the car and called my honey, fully intending to go home to pick up the drive but I also to vent about forgetting the darn thing. Have you ever had someone in your life who brings out the best in you because of how they approach stress and chaos? Well, he is that for me. He told me to turn back around, go back to Staples and that he would email me the file, so I wouldn’t have to come all the way home because “they’re going to ask you to email it to them anyways, so you might as well have it electronically”. I was tempted to be stubborn and play the victim, go all the way back home only to turn around, but I had the presence of mind to realize, that was not the most effective use of my time. So that’s what I did, I turned around and by the time I got back to Staples, I had the file in my email. I love him!

When was the last time you found yourself in need of help? Did you ask for support? For some people asking for help is a sign of weakness, but I was listening to Les Brown this morning and he said something that really resonated with me. He said “ask for help. Not because you are weak. But because you want to remain strong”. BOOM! Brilliant!

Focus on the objective. Just be flexible how you get there

So, I walk into Staples and go to the printing desk,  to ask if they could print my certificates on the card stock I bought. Well… As it turns out, the staples paper I bought, doesn’t work with their printer. Really…? Come on!

OK. Time to rethink my approach. I looked for different paper and ended up selecting a beautiful gold embossed thick letter paper and went home to print the certificates, saving me both time and money. And you know what…?  I LOVED it! When all was said and done, they turned out even more beautiful than what I was planning with the card stock. I was super happy!

What about you? When was the last time you had a clear objective in mind and it seemed like the Universe was determined to put sticks in your wheels? What did you do? Did you throw your hands up in the air in frustration and give up or did you persevere? What did you learn?

See, the journey is where the gold is. That’s where our lessons are, the learning that shapes who we become as humans. It’s easy to let frustration get the better of us. Yet, that is when we must rise to the occasion. We must bring forward our best self and ask “how would she handle that?” and go ahead and do THAT! We learn new things and what we’re made of because of what we go through. Though this was a small thing, it reminded me that I am better than the Alex who wanted to throw in the towel. So I decided to show up for myself and by 1. being mindful of my thoughts, 2. relying on my friends for support and 3. being flexible on how to achieve my goal, I was able to finish my task and deliver an even better product than I had originally anticipated. Winning!!!!

So tell me…. How will you approach the next setback that comes your way?

^{Image by yogesh more from Pixabay}