stuck in my head
Hey friends!! Wow…August already! Where is the time going?! I’m on a brief 2 day-vacation hiatus between camping with friends & an upcoming family trip. Very thankful for fun adventures, while simultaneously thankful for 2 nights in my own bed.
A few years ago, I learned to wake surf off the back of a boat. I love it. It’s simple & easy to learn. I have several family members & friends that love it also, & we have a sweet uncle who graciously gives us rides on his boat. I can get up right away, quick & easy. I’ve done it enough that it is muscle memory now. Last week, it was a beautiful day on the water & we were out for the afternoon. I couldn’t stand up & get going for 8 tries. I fell over & over, & breathed in water too many times. I haven’t fallen like that since I learned to wake surf. It was frustrating to say the least, & slightly embarrassing as there were other friends on the boat too. I slapped the water with my surf rope & told my uncle I was done, I could try again next time & just hop on the boat for now. He smiled & said, “Nope, you are getting up. You know how, dig your heels in, stand up, drop your back hand, & ride the wave. You’re fine.” I agreed, while internally feeling so done with trying.
Finally, on the 9th try, I stood up just like all the successful times before & rode for over 20 minutes. What had gone wrong? I wanted to complain that the water was too choppy, the surf rope was too long, that I hadn’t had enough water to drink that day, etc. Excuses.
In reality, I was stuck in my head. I knew how to get up & I let my off day or whatever it was get in my way. This feels very applicable to many areas of my life. I often find myself frustrated, wanting to make excuses, imagining that it would be easier if I just had control over all the factor. There aren’t many things we do have control over. BUT, we do have control over our words, attitudes, & actions. Someone may have been rude at work that day, a professor as school may have graded unfairly, our spouse or child was argumentative or whiny.
After a 20 minute ride surfing & admiring the gorgeous water on this lovely afternoon, I couldn’t help my enthusiastic smile as I climbed back on the swim step & squeezed the lake water out of my ponytail. My uncle turned in the driver’s seat and told me, “See, I knew you had it in you. You just had to get up. You were stuck in your head.” I laughed, agreeing, & no longer feeling stubborn to disagree. I didn’t have the desire to whine about the long rope or the choppy water anymore. I let it go, realizing it really didn’t matter why it took me 9 tries to get up. It mattered that I responded with joy for the 20 minutes in the sunshine that I loved. It mattered than I thanked my patient uncle for encouraging me to get up & for being our boat driver. It mattered that I graciously shook off my frustration.
So, not every life circumstances holds as much enjoyment & fun as wake surfing, but this still applies. How should you respond to the things you can’t control that spiral into “bad days?” I would so far to say that bad things happen to all of us practically every day. Physical discomfort, relational strains, job frustrations. We let a negative client or patient interaction at. One final scenario for you - at one of my previous jobs - I made a serious mistake. I was about 2 weeks into my job & made a medication error. My patient was safe, & my manager, doctor, and I jumped through the required logistical & safety hoops to make sure the situation was resolved. After an hour or 2 had gone by and the shock of the mistake had gone by, & immediate necessary conversations had been had, I sat down at my desk & cried. One of my thoughtful coworkers walked over & said, “We all mess up sometimes. It’s okay now. It’s taken care of. Don’t let it ruin your whole day. You have another patient that needs you to have a better attitude now.” I recognized her kind & direct words held truth. So I got up to talk to my next patient & take another set of vitals & I moved on. I didn’t let it ruin my day. My attitude & response was the only thing that blurred my mistake from being a bad day or just a day that required some redirection as I learned something new.
So friends, in what ways are you stuck in your head? Are you frequently frustrated, discouraged, finding yourself discontent? Take a moment & consider, how should you be responding?