I opened up the little fridge in my hotel room.
Pulled out food for my lunch and stacked it on the table.
Looked over at my suitcase on the floor.
And then I realized...
I didn't bring my lunch bag.
It was sitting on the kitchen counter at home.
What to do? I couldn't carry it all individually. At least, not easily.
So I scanned the hotel room. What could I use to transport my lunch?
Nothing in the main living space.
Pretty sure the bathroom didn't have any options either.
I opened the closet and there was my solution.
Yep - I took my lunch to work that day in the dry cleaning bag.
And you know what? It was just fine.
I only got a couple of strange looks in the lunchroom, but they all ended with a laugh and a knowing smile.
Sometimes in life, we have to improvise.
We have to expect that things aren't going to be perfect.
By now, I hope we've all realized there's no such thing.
On the really hard days, what helps is knowing that I've been through hard stuff before.
And I figured it out. Most times, by improvising.
There's physical improvising, like using the dry cleaning bag.
Or resorting to staples and duct tape instead of needles and thread.
I've been known to do that a time or two (read this blog post to learn more!).
And then there's figurative improvising.
That's a little harder to do. It takes shifting your mindset.
It means keeping perspective during the hard times.
Being willing to see things from other people's point of view.
It means asking yourself whether this issue will matter five years from now. Or even five days from now.
Knowing when to pick your battles. And when you've got too many and need to let go of a few.
It means being willing to compromise, even if switching gears means you don't exactly follow your original plan.
And it means finding joy in the new path you are taking.
We're closing out another year today.
Many people will be setting big resolutions for next year.
I encourage you all to resolve to improvise more.
To walk into the new year knowing these things:
Life is going to throw challenges at you.
Things will not always go as planned
There's more than one way to solve a problem
You're going to forget stuff when you travel
Duct tape and staples work really well in a pinch!
But most importantly...
Resolve to have a more peaceful life in 2024.
And to find joy in all the paths you take.
Happy New Year, friends!
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