A Lesson in Flexibility, Grace, and Showing Up
I take pride in my commitment to staying organized. Every event, work obligation, planning session, and commitment finds a place on my calendar, and each day I make it a point to check in and prepare for what lies ahead. But as anyone who leads a full life knows, the best-laid plans can sometimes go sideways.
Imagine my surprise when I geared up for an important commitment scheduled for “date A,” only to discover—on “date B”—that the job was set for a day earlier than I thought! I felt a jolt of shock. How could this have happened? I didn’t linger on the thought for long; my mindset quickly shifted from disbelief to action. I realized that I needed to put everything else aside, refocus, and get to where I needed to be. There were people depending on me.
As I began the hour-long drive, I took inventory of how I was feeling. I allowed myself a brief moment of “how did I miss this?” but I quickly let it go, recognizing that I hadn’t done this on purpose—mistakes happen, after all. What mattered most was how I showed up, even under less-than-perfect circumstances. I wanted to arrive calm, composed, and fully present. I hoped that when I walked in, they’d feel the relief of knowing I was there, prepared and positive.Guess what? It all came together. I arrived, everyone was happy, and the energy in the room was calm and focused. It was a moment of relief for them, and a lesson for me: grace can go a long way.
Moving forward, I’ll be double- and triple-checking my dates, but I’m grateful for the lesson in extending myself a bit of grace. It’s comforting to know that even when things don’t go exactly as planned, we have the power to reset, show up, and make the best of any situation.