Managing curve balls…

Every year or two my car gets hit. Fortunately I’m not in it and there’s no injury to anyone. It occurs whilst the car is stationary, sitting peacefully parked on the road, minding its own business and at some point, someone reverses into it, scrapes past it, nudges it, pulls in to avoid something coming towards them and dents it. Typically it’s the bumpers that get slightly more than just bumped and I’m always in two minds what to do – do I get it fixed or leave it given at some point it’s going to be damaged once more?

Every so often, a wonderful human takes ownership of their wrongdoing and will put a note on the windscreen apologising and providing contact details to reimburse for any damage caused. More often than not, the culprit has disappeared without a trace.

It’s a reminder of how often things ‘simply happen, out of the blue’. Often when we’re minding our own business, getting on with life and least expect any disruption of any kind, a curve ball gets thrown our way and tests us – how do we react and deal with it?

We may not have a choice in what’s happened however we do always have choice in how we respond and react. This is what we do have control over.

Next time something surprises you (probably more in a negative way), take a step back, take a breath and consider your options both practically and emotionally. Even when things are annoying they don’t have to annoy us, likewise when things are frustrating we do not have to succumb to frustration. There are of course many other emotions that can be evoked and it’s not easy, though it is possible.

Catch the curve ball and throw it back...if you can and see how it feels.