Have you had the experience of jumping into plan B only to have your mind run amok? A few weeks ago we planned to fly from Chicago to Denver. When we arrived at the airport we discovered that all flights out of Chicago had been cancelled with no word about when flights might begin again. We immediately jumped into Plan B and decided to drive to Colorado. I thought, “this won’t be so bad, it’s only 16 hours.”
We were on the road within the hour and I remember laughing periodically because when I woke up that morning who would have guessed that we would be driving to Colorado. This wasn’t the plan, but hey, we were on vacation! After the initial adrenaline rush of quickly changing to Plan B, my mind jumped into feeling like a bungee cord.
As we drove, I noticed my mind periodically going into – “Oh no, we’re missing out on one day of vacation. That’s why we decided to fly in the first place.” Then I’d rein myself in and say, “Slow it way down. It’s OK, You don’t have to rush to get there. It will simply be different.” Then an hour later my mind would jump into, “Oh no, we were going to go right to Shrine Pass and now I’ll have to wait one more day.” Then it almost felt like the tension of a bungee cord pulling my mind back to the present moment as I again heard, “Slow it way down.” I had many back and forth conversations in my mind during the drive. It was an odd sensation and a great reminder.
As we planned each day’s hike I repeatedly pulled myself back into the moment if I got into “figure it all out” mode and slowed way down. I noticed that when my mind went into trying to figure out the next thing, that I would miss seeing what was right in front of me as I got lost in my head. I would stop myself, bring my mind back to the present moment and notice how beautiful it was.
So, the question is – when do you notice your mind pulling you into, “Oh, no!” or trying to figure it all out? Sometimes Plan B works out better than the original plan and even if it doesn’t, there is no upside to spending time wishing that things would have been different. There is such power in staying in the moment because that is where choice lives. When have you noticed your mind acting like a bungee cord?
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