My lessons on calm and patience

For a change, this post will not be about #matchawaffles , #veganpancakes, or #rainbowsalads, but one about calm, patience and positive mindset .

But do check back this weekend as I’ll be posting a brand new post on office lunch ideas to kick start the first September work week…in style, and flavours!

For now, KEEP CALM and READ ON!!!

When running into a problem or a mishap,  we all know, have been told, and even find it a common sense to “focus on the solution, not the problem” OR  not to “cry over spilt milk”. But so often, we still fall in the trap of panicking – denying – blaming and become so bugged and frustrated that we jumped into hasty mending actions instead of patiently working out the solutions.

Alright, I admit, that’s the could-should-would theory. Easier said than done – At least for me! For years, such situations would get me totally annoyed and berserk at people and things around me though my rational self knows that it wouldn’t help. Poor the dearest people around me and my cats who have suffer all these times! ?‍♀️. But I have changed, which I’m still intriguingly surprised to realise. Let me tell you how this came about.

It started with Tuesday 28 August – 10AM – when I was contently telling myself that:

? The biggest perk of working at home is that you’ve got all the amenities available for a comfortable and energy-filled working day at NO additional cost. How ?️ is that? Think of:

✔ The fastest internet

✔ The most comfortable chair

✔ ⌛commuting-time saved

✔ Rain, hail, storm? à cannot care less

✔ The tastiest food & ☕ for each coffee break

✔ The cleanest toilet ?

….etc

That is, of course, if discipline is name of your game ?, and that is until you clumsily spill your Orange Ginger Tea on your desk and onto your laptop, like I did. My poor 6-year old machine flashed its keyboard light for a few seconds then went straight into comma… Just 1 hour into my working day ?!!

?C’est pas cool!!! No IT Support to fix or replace my laptop now!!! But instead of hastily looking at repair or possibility of buying a new one on my Mobile, I was making an inventory while cleaning it up: (1) Are my work and files lost? – No, I store and work on cloud these days; (2) Where did the water get in? Blow-dry there first; (3) What are ways to manage the rest of today’s action list offline or on mobile? (4) Prioritising those that can be done off-line while waiting for things to dry up, e.g. photo shoot for blog posts.

And good things come to those who wait. After an hour, my 5-kg workstation jerked out of its comma! But my nerve was soon re-tested. Just when I was finishing off my hair-colouring and shower at the end of the afternoon, hot water stopped. Turned out the water in the central heating unit was empty – I’ve missed the annual maintenance for a few months this year. Calling service hotline while hopping between bathroom and boiler room …naked…..looking for ways to refill that cannot-be-found reservoir, I realised it wouldn’t be solved today. No panic, no complain, I went back under the cold stream of water finishing where I left off.  Things have to wait until tomorrow anyway. Guess what, a cold shower is actually good for our body, as I’ve read somewhere – boosting our blood circulation, invigorating our skin, improving metabolism, and increasing alertness.  And that was all I focused on for the remaining 15 minutes? .

Intrigued by my own reactions, I went back in recent times and realised that I’ve managed to stay zen in another few occasions like this:

1. When the oven/microwave unit decided to stop working after 8-years and I got no replacement for 2 weeks. It was time to go back to those 1990s with traditional pans/pots, and to get creative on cold breakfast.
2. My whole dinner smashed onto the floor and went straight into the bin when the Ikea plate cracked itself open. A good 20-mins cleaning with rumbling tummy taught me to be thankful for having frozen leftover and thus saving on ordering-in ?

Though it sounds very simple and common-sense, it was only until now that I’ve truly learned (and practise) the essence of patience and focusing on solving instead of the problem itself or how/what/who/ has caused it.

Such simple mind-set saves me LOTS of energy and mental stress while allowing me to divert my attention and presence to the moments of NOW. The future will have to wait….a bit longer!

So to sum up, my lessons on dealing with problems and challenges throughout these experiences are:

✔ Take a deep breath, or a few if needed

✔ Remind to yourself out loud – Panic and haste will NOT solve anything

✔ Stay calm & patient

✔Start dealing with the immediate consequences

✔ Inventorise “damages”

✔ Start working on those solutions when things have quieted down

✔ Ask or find help along the way, especially to minimise costs

PS: Latest update – On Wednesday (the day after), I called Central Heating Repair service first thing in the morning and got an appointment for the afternoon. Another cold morning shower for me and the issue was fixed within 15 minutes. I guess it will now be another while until I take another cold shower here at home.

KEEP CALM & ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR WEEK!