Photo by Geetanjal Khanna on Unsplash
Life happens. Make your plan AND hold it loosely.
My computer crashed, AGH nightmare! Suddenly my list of purposeful actions can’t be taken. My options:
Anger
Rage
Frustration
All of the above
Or “RAIN”
The RAIN method can help you shift your mindset. It is taking a moment (or more) to recognize, acknowledge/allow, investigate and non-identify with the situation.
The most important next step is “S”, self-compassion. Not a pity party, rather a true ability to take your own needs seriously. Then, you can move forward by letting go.
Let go of the rigidity of the plan you had and reset to what’s possible now. In my case, I shifted to paper and pen to continue to work as I reinstalled my operating system. I made progress on what I had intended on doing.
Then I finally got my computer back up and running only to find I had lost all my applications! Of course, I hit the same emotional range of AGH…. expletives! This time it was a bit harder to get through the process. I realized I need to focus on what was important. The bigger picture.
Stepping back and away from the computer, I took my pen and paper and continue to focus on what I was working on. Something different happened. I was more spacious in my thoughts. Ideas began to flow. The RAIN method helped me to continue to work AND I took it another step. I took purposeful action in the face of the challenges. I choose to move forward on what was most important.
Removing my primary tool of the computer suddenly shifted my capacity. It was like I lost one of my senses only to strengthen another.
In the end I accomplished the most important task and my computer was restored. Well almost, to this day there are still applications that I never reinstalled. I guess they just were not required for me to do what is important. Just clutter or distractions that I don’t miss.
How does this relate to our careers and lives? We hold certain expectations about how we will accomplish our dreams. We are blasted with social media telling us how we have to be motivated, driven, and do it the way they want to sell you to be successful. It's your choice, how do you want to move forward?