February 7, 2008

Roadblocks and Breakdowns - Waste Energy or Have Fun?

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 11:53 am

When Your World Goes Down

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Yesterday and today, my usual means of connecting isn’t working. . . .

It’s a moment to think about what we do when things go wrong. A first response is to think what we’ve lost. It’s too bad some folks never get to what they’ve gained. When the world isn’t behaving, we get to pick waste energy or do something fun.

  • Five years from now will anyone care? Most of our daily disasters are fairly boring five minutes or five days after they’re gone. Seems a waste to put too much energy in something that won’t matter that far on. I’d rather do something else.
  • Do you have any control? Whether it’s the horrible traffic you’re stuck in or the electrical blackout caused by the storm, seems a waste to invest in talking about things we think should be going on. This is free time I hadn’t planned on having!
  • Could it be an opportunity in disguise? When a plan goes awry is something we’ve always wished we had time to do? Why waste an opportunity to think about or do whatever I want?

With a slight shift, an upset can become an adventure. . . . and adventures are way more fun.

What do you do when your world doesn’t behave?

Smiling,
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Filed under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog |



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21 Comments to “Roadblocks and Breakdowns - Waste Energy or Have Fun?”

  1. February 7th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
    Robert Hruzek said

    Well… some of the best ideas came from “roadblocks”! You put an impenetrable barrier in front of some people, they’ll just sit there and wait. But put the same barrier in front of a creative person, you might find out the barrier’s not so impenetrable after all!

    BUT (and that’s a BIG ‘but’), the interesting thing is, those other folks might be creating something totally unrelated to the barrier while they’re “just sitting there”.

    Either way, it requires them to take advantage of a roadblock and turn the time to good use. It’s an attitude I’d like to cultivate myself! :-)

  2. February 7th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
    Mike DeWitt said

    Master Hruzek is wise…

    Your phone is still working, isn’t it? You can still connectorize with that! ;-)

    Perhaps it’s the universe’s way of telling you to contemplate something deeply…

  3. February 7th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
    Jersey Todd said

    Good post. Hit me at the right time with difficult things going on - Thanks!

  4. February 7th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
    Mark said

    Well, somewhere along the way, during this challenge, I considered that there were folks in TN, KY, ARK, and AL that lost loved ones or lost the homes their computers were in!

    The fact that our servers went wonky paled in comparison…

    So I counted my blessings rather than my troubles. And prayed for them.

  5. February 7th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    HI Bob!
    I agree that some of my best ideas have been the direct product of roadblocks that tried to stop me going where I wanted to go. You’re right too, that what I percieve as a barrier could something entirely different if I looked with another view. :)

  6. February 7th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Mike!
    I took it as the universe telling me that I could kick back a bit and think about other things. :)

    What fun it has been. :)

  7. February 7th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Mark!
    That was a world view shift that did something wonderful for you and for them. I had a thought or two along those lines. Maybe we were thinking in that direction at the same time.

  8. February 7th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Jersey Todd!
    Great to see you here again!
    Thanks for letting me know that it was a useful post for you. I like when things like that happen. :)

  9. February 7th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
    ChowMunga! said

    Liz:

    Thanks for the great content! When things dont go as planned for me, I change my routine. If I am feeling down, instead of watching TV, I will do some exercise. I think when we do something different (whatever that may be), I helps us come back to reality, and that everything will be just fine.

  10. February 7th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi ChowMunga!
    Welcome!
    Changing routine, changing our view, our mind, our perspective is the greatest gift we can offer ourselves sometimes — just as you said, a new reality comes through. Yeah.

    I’m so with you.

    You’re not a stranger anymore. :)

  11. February 8th, 2008 at 6:29 am
    Stephen Hopson said

    Liz:

    You’ve hit a favorite topic of mine. It isn’t what happens that really matters but what you do about it that counts! It’s all a matter of perception.

    I agree that roadblocks or other forms of adversity could be opportunities in disguise. They could give birth to ideas that you hadn’t thought about or lead you down a different path.

    Nice article - timely too - cuz I’m sort of stuck in a rut.

  12. February 8th, 2008 at 6:38 am
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hey Stephen,
    I think this time of year, February in particular, can find us stuck in a rut — at least in this part of the world. I like to look at beautiful pictures and spend more time reflecting on what makes the sun shine.

    Then I get to work on showing those roadblocks that they’re not as big, bad, or hard as they appear. :)

  13. February 8th, 2008 at 11:07 am
    cameron said

    When things don’t go well, and I can’t control that, I just face up to it, put it behind me and say “what now?”. (go to plan B) Don’t dwell on the unfortunate past.

  14. February 8th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
    Anita Bruzzese said

    I am reminded of a former city editor who used to look at me when I was agonizing over something, and say, “You know, 3 billion Chinese don’t give a f***.”
    THAT puts life in perspective.

    Thanks for another great post, Liz.
    Anita Bruzzese
    http://www.45things.com

  15. February 8th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
    Janice C Cartier said

    If the world zigs somedays, you learn to zag… hopefully the tack you are on gets you where you would like to be all along. It just isn’t always a straight line.
    All best, Jan

  16. February 8th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Cameron,
    Someone once said, “there’s no good or bad — only what happens.” I try to remember that when I’m inclined to get stuck with worry. It pushes me to more productive action.

    I guess you and I are alike in that way. :)

  17. February 8th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Anita,
    I had a friend who used to say, “10,000 years from now will anyone care about this?” Same basic idea! It’s not carte blanche to misbehave, but it is a great rule for “getting on with” repairing things and making life better.

  18. February 8th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Jan!
    As someone who has particular trouble navigating straight lines, I very much appreciate what you’re saying. :)

  19. February 8th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
    Ria Ludy said

    Lemons, Lemonade, I definitely need to learn to squeeze more out of what life throws my way.

  20. February 8th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
    ME Liz Strauss said

    Hi Ria!
    Wouldn’t it be nice if we all learned to take more from life by being more a part of it? :)

  21. February 10th, 2008 at 10:20 am
    Sunday Brunch | Words of a Broken Mirror said

    [...] we spend so much time in and the imminence of occasional technological breakdowns, I recommend this amazing piece by Liz on how to turn upsets into real [...]

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