The fastest, tallest, and longest (with a bit of luck) roller coaster in the world is life! There are tons of twists and turns and on occasion it gets a bit bumpy. One thing to keep in mind is that there is no such thing as a second ride. Make the best out of the first ride, because when the ride stops the park closes-permanently.
The things in life that I pick and choose to get worked up over, or even those that I get excited about, often make me laugh when I stop to think. In the end they are really just things, and I either put importance behind them or I don't. I get to choose if I am happy, angry, etc. Some people reading this might be wondering why I am writing about this today. I started writing about "the roller coaster" a few weeks back but decided to leave the entry unfinished in my drafts folder. Once I stopped thinking about the why, and instead just let life unfold normally it became clear.
On a moment by moment basis things either make me happy, sad, mad, excited, and well you get my drift. How I deal with those feelings could impact the rest of my day if I allow them to run unchecked. Most of the time I am pretty good at not allowing that to happen. Sometimes I fail, and usually I regret it afterwards. When I do catch myself, and prevent anything negative from taking hold, the result is always positive. Seriously, the results are always positive. I will either make a new friend, gain a new insight, or overcome an obstacle. Here is a stupid but true example... There is one particular bartender in the hotel lounge that has bothered me since my arrival. He is slow to serve, forgetful, and just not good. That's what I told myself about him anyway, but yet I kept waiting for him to do something right to prove me wrong. The guy didn't have a chance though. I had already determined who he was for me, and that was the context that he was stuck in until I told myself otherwise. Unfortunately it took me until yesterday to understand that the problem wasn't him at all, rather it was me. As long as I had him packaged and labeled as horrible there was no other way for him to occur. It didn't matter what he did or didn't do. Everything shifted the moment I admitted to myself that it was me who was a jerk and not him. I left his bar that night feeling like I received great service. Nothing changed except my unreasonable way of thinking.
Whenever I give up that there is something wrong with someone or someplace I experience a sense of relief and freedom. The idiocy is thinking that something was wrong in the first place. I mean, who am I to say what is right or wrong with people or a place? Really?? The context that I create, anyone creates, is always decisive. When I started with Electronic Arts I was on a six month contract. Nobody ever guaranteed a permanent position after the six months ended, nor was it ever implied that my contract would be extended. I took the position nonetheless, and I took it knowing that it was going to be an extraordinary experience no matter what the future brought. Several people asked me, "Aren't you worried about giving up a permanent job for a contract position?" I wasn't worried one bit. My response was always the same. I was accepting the position with the mindset that it was a permanent role. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't pretending, rather I was treating it as a perm role so that I would do the best job possible. Had I treated it as temporary there is a good chance that I wouldn't be in a perm role today.
Still you ask, "Where is this going?" Let me just say this... I won the game I created for the month of May. Context is decisive.
Look out June, here I come!
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