An Accident?

​You could call it a little accident, but with a big meaning.

Here’s the story…
I was on my way to meet my new mentor, H. James Dallas, this morning at the Grand Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. James is the former CIO at Medtronic and author of the new book, Mastering the Challenges of Leading Change. 

I thought I had a lot of time, but then I drove around the block a couple of times while my GPS was trying to figure out which side of the street it wanted me on and before I knew it, I was running late.

Car damage

Not good
I pulled into the stall of the parking ramp at a funny angle. Then I heard the rubbing noise against the turquoise-colored pillar. I thought to myself, “This is not good.” I backed up my car, cranked the steering wheel and moved forward to the front of the stall. I got out holding my breath, hoping nothing serious had happened. 

What I saw when I looked down at my car were multiple lines of turquoise paint on my gray-blue bumper and a couple of black spots where I had rubbed the paint completely off. Darn! Not how I wanted to start my day.

How could I be so stupid?
As I walked toward the elevator, I could hear the voice in my head wanting to beat myself up and questioning myself about how I could be so stupid as to scrape my car against a pillar in a parking garage. I could feel my spirits sinking and my bright, enthusiastic energy level dropping like a rock.

Then, I caught myself! (Thank goodness.) Yes, I was a little distressed. But I quickly realized that it was simply an accident and at this point I had a choice. I could give my power over to the shaming voice in my head and give up the joy of this day or I could let it go and reconnect with the positive energy that is always available to me.

Lucky me
Lucky for me, today, I had the presence of mind to let it go and reconnect with the positive. 

When I was sharing my story with James at breakfast, he said, “This incident is more than just an accident. It is a concrete example you can use in the leadership speech you are designing. As a leader, we need the presence of mind to step away from unexpected and irritating situations and say, ‘No thank you’ to the voice in our head that feeds on the negative.”

It takes awareness, presence and a conscious decision to have presence of mind.

The conscious decision was fresh in my mind today, because yesterday I spent some time in quiet reflection. I had already made a clear decision that I was going to do whatever it takes to have more positivity and joy in my life.

As I was discussing my experience with James, I had another realization. In the split second before I hit that pillar, I heard a voice in my head that said, “Slow down.” I remember disregarding that voice. If I would have listened, I would have avoided the pillar all together.

Which voice do you listen to? What conscious decisions are you making?

Have a great week!