Challenges Archives | Reinvention Playbook

Prepare for the Unexpected

Sheri here –

How do you respond when the unexpected happens?

Do you freeze?
Go looking for ice cream?
Call your BFF?
Spring into action?

Maybe you go into fight or flight mode. But having a plan A, a plan B, or even a plan C is not a bad idea. It’s important to remember, when things happen unexpectedly keeping calm is crucial. Having to deal with life’s unexpected moments is inevitable.

Lately, I’ve had some unwanted situations come into my life. I’ve realized I have no choice BUT to solve them or drown in overwhelm – which doesn’t help anything!

When It Rains It Pours (Literally)

This past weekend, the unexpected happened (again)! I started noticing a spill on the stairs of my house that wouldn’t seem to dry. I realized I had a water leak! The final convincing evidence? Seeing water drip out of an electrical outlet – not good.

Now what to do? Who do I call? So, I had a “meeting” with my trusted home advisor team – my husband, and we decided to call a plumber.

I started with my “go to guy” who couldn’t come out for three or four days. But, this was urgent. So, now what? Who do I know, that I trust, that could make a recommendation? I decided to ask some friends and received a couple of referrals.

Fortunately, one of the referrals was able to send a team out within an hour of my phone call! Once they opened the wall up – it looked like a mini Niagara Falls! (I should’ve been wearing my raincoat). Before I knew it the leak was fixed. Problem solved!

How to celebrate this quick repair? Chocolate brownies of course!

Get a Plan In Place

So, how do you handle surprises? Do you ignore them, hoping they will go away? I’ve learned (the hard way), that doesn’t work well and often exacerbates the situation.

Do you ask for help or input, fumbling along looking for answers? Most of the unexpected, makes it difficult to have a plan waiting. But, you can have a plan of action for broad categories of emergency.

Some pre-planning and thought are still required though. A good place to start is having a plan for when you need to leave your home in a hurry, such as a fire, a flood, or an earthquake.

Here are some questions to consider when getting your game plan together. What do you think you would need beforehand? Maybe it includes what to take with you. What’s your communication plan with people? Think about family or those you may need to get in touch with to notify of your safety.

These are not the sort of things that you put together in the heat of the moment. Do you have a plan in place? Or have you thought about putting one in place?

What about basic repairs? Do you have emergency numbers in a convenient location? Maybe on your cell phone? What about the emergency numbers for the baby-sitter or the house sitter? Have you thought those through?

Life Happens: Expect Challenges

Life is a journey filled with twists and turns, triumphs and accomplishments.

Because life doesn’t always follow a script, it’s important to plan for the unexpected. That sounds impossible. How can you plan for something which you cannot anticipate? The truth is, you can’t plan the details, but you put yourself into a certain mindset that will help you achieve your goals.

One of the biggest obstacles we face when the unexpected occurs is fear. This might be fear of the unknown or fear of things going wrong. Keeping a positive mindset drives us to get through the difficult times. It motivates us to keep going, it gives us strength.

Confronting a negative or unexpected event awakens inner strength and willpower we might not know we had otherwise.

Planning is not only important, it is essential for successful living. By embracing and engaging with the unexpected, then combining it with your plans and action, you will begin to find sustainable confidence and peace of mind.

I’d love to hear what types of emergency plans you’ve put together! Leave a comment below!

If you’ve been ignoring ways to prepare for the future, I’d love to support you by helping you strategize. Whether you need help to put a plan in place or to stop procrastinating, give me a call – just use this link.

Although my house may be a little torn up, the problem is resolved, and I can feel comfortable that I took rapid action. The brownies sure were good too!

Til the next time.
Ciao,
Sheri

Venturing Outside Your Comfort Zone

Comfort Zone

Sheri here –

Unfortunately, a couple of weeks ago, I injured my right arm. Thankfully, nothing is broken, only a sprain and some pulled tendons. However, it not only changed the way I deal with everything but also prompted me to look at the way, I deal with discomfort.

Because I’m right-handed, I have to rely on my left hand… and it hasn’t been easy! Have you ever used a mouse with your opposite hand? Do you know how disorienting it is? Unbelievably.

Turn Challenges into Opportunities

So, I could approach this situation in one of two ways. I could see it as a roadblock that stops me in my tracks. Or, I could see it as an opportunity to learn something.

First, I had to recognize and embrace my feelings – sadness, frustration, and helplessness. Acknowledging the way I felt allowed me to transform my hopefully, short term disability into something more fruitful.

Life is a continuous succession of both small and large problems. It’s how we handle and recover from them that matters.

All of us have the freedom to choose the level of determination and effort we bring to every moment. We chose how we look at things. How we approach an obstacle determines how daunting we make it.

I have watched myself struggle. And in other ways, I question whether everything I’m doing is really necessary. Are there easier ways? Are there different ways to do what I have always done?

Discomfort Leads to Growth

A state of desperation could be the catalyst that sparks your ingenuity to help you move through a difficult situation in an optimal way.

See your adversities as advantages. Each difficult moment is a learning moment in its own right.

In my case, it’s driven me to embrace a vocal use of technology (which is how I’m compiling this blog). Okay, maybe you’ve been doing that forever. I haven’t!

My past experience has shown me that if I try and push through something like an injury, it takes me twice as long to recover. It’s not about pushing through the situation; it’s about adapting and not letting the situation deter you.

Here I am, trying not to feel sorry for myself but looking at ways to use the lessons I’ve learned in the past about being outside my comfort zone.

Your Dream is Not Inside Your Comfort Zone!

The place outside of your comfort zone is a place where real magic happens!

The problem starts when you get complacent. When this happens, you stop striving to achieve your goals – you stop challenging yourself.

As you start a new year, you may have created new goals, which leads you to venture outside your comfort zone.

One of my mentors Bri Seeley has said “Your dream is not inside your comfort zone.” Which means we must get comfortable with being uncomfortable. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been spending the better part of this last year being uncomfortable!

To cope, I’ve relied on prayer, meditation and journaling until injuring my hand. But what else do you do to get comfortable with being uncomfortable?

What have you been doing to support yourself in this time outside your comfort zone? What are the tools that you are using to support you?

Are you sharing those feelings of discomfort with your besties?

Are you looking for new and different ways to do things?

Are you looking at the possibility of opportunity?

What are you doing?

I’d love to hear, because I could use some new tools and some new ideas. Leave a comment below and let me know!

After all, if you have a vision of any size you’re going to be spending a lot of time venturing outside your comfort zone!

‘til the next time…
Ciao,

Sheri