Yesterday was the longest day of travel I’ve ever had.
After a foggy morning drive to Midway airport, I received a notification that my flight had been delayed by more than three hours. By the time I got to the desk to change my connecting flight, every flight out of Chicago had been cancelled.
Some people chose to be angry.
Some people chose to be sad.
Some people chose determination.
My keynote presentation in Albuquerque began at 9:00 a.m. the next day so any flight the next morning wasn’t going to work.
I got a late flight out of Indianapolis and started my three-hour drive to another airport.
A thunderstorm in February suddenly appeared at 8:00 p.m. delaying our flight. It didn’t look like I was going to make my connecting flight in Denver.
But, I did.
After a sprint through the concourse, I found another delayed flight.
Seventeen hours after I left home, I made it to my hotel bed.
You Choose Your Reaction
E + R = Outcome
Event + Response = Outcome
I don’t know how I would have reacted if . . .
- I didn’t have faith in God. I said a lot of prayers throughout the day and so did a lot of other people.
- I kept thinking about the Gospel reading for the day, which was a reminder to take up your cross daily and follow Christ (Luke 9:23).
- I just finished reading The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday, which offers many, many stories about people who overcame adversity through perception, action, and determination.
- I had a couple of great audibooks and podcasts to listen to in the drive and on the planes.
- Southwest airlines was impressive as always.
No matter what happens, you choose how to react.
It is that reaction that makes something good or bad and not the event in itself.
Why choose to bring on negativity? Choose joy instead.
