Mary’s Minute
“It is not the load that breaks you down. It is the way you carry it.”
~
Lou Holtz
We all have stress in our lives. Last week I was traveling to a conference and
arrived at a hotel for check-in after a three hour drive. I was tired from a day of work and the drive
and ready for a quick check-in. I
quickly found that I did not have a reservation. After researching my dilemma, it was
discovered that my reservation was for five days before, and that I had been
charged for a “no show.” I remained
somewhat calm and did my best to be kind to the clerk, knowing it was not her
fault, but I was a mess. I was so
frustrated at the mess and the possibility of losing the money from the no-show
charge.
It wasn’t until the next morning that I shook
off the stress from the night before. I
started thinking about the fact that in the grand scheme of things, losing one
night’s hotel stay was insignificant. I
thought about how lucky I was that the hotel had a room for me without a
reservation. I thought about the
kindness of the clerk. I then met with
the account manager who without hesitation credited my credit card for the
no-show charge. In other words, I
allowed myself to be stressed about something that didn’t even happen! How silly was that?
I know that we all have stress in our lives –
perhaps most of all those who work with children. What is thrown at us is mostly out of our
control. What is within our control is
how we handle it. One thing I learned is
that it is foolish to be stressed about something that may not even occur. When we feel stressed we need to stop and
think whether it is stress about what is or what might be. Stressing over a possibility is a recipe for
disaster.
Have a great week!
Mary
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