Tuesday, March 4, 2014

This is a test...this is only a test

I was working from home a few days ago and mid-way during the morning I stopped for a break. I brewed fresh coffee and turned the tv on for a few minutes. Shortly after choosing a channel, a loud, annoying continuous beep blared from the tv. It ruined my break. It was a weekly test of the Emergency Broadcast System. This harsh, jarring noise broke the silence violently. It seemed to last forever. I was now in a bad mood.

After attempting to work through my bad mood, I finally thought Wait a minute, this was only a test! How many times do we take a bad moment, an annoyance, something that doesn't go exactly right and turn it into something bigger than what it is? We tend to turn issues into crisis, we panic or go full-out with emotion for things that frustrate us but that are of no real consequence. Some of us exert all of the sadness, or the anger, or the frustration we are capable of when we are inconvenienced, when something doesn't go according to the plan, when something goes wrong. What do we save for real emergencies? 

During these times of displeasure, it helps to remember that this is only a test. We can use this moment to build up our characters, our problem-solving skills, our discerning intelligence and our capacity to manage the stuff of life. When moments of real distress and difficulty come up, our energy and our power will not have been depleted. When a real emergency develops we will be strong and capable of handling it. 





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