While in Vail I was trying to articulate to Val what was so difficult at work that was making me miserable, and I could NOT do it. I’d like to blame that on the lack of oxygen, but the truth is, I am always that inarticulate.
Ha, here’s proof, and I hope this makes you laugh:
Like, what is going on with my brain? I was able to remember the word articulate but not inarticulate while writing this? I feel like the brainstorming and idea forming part of my brain has been on a leave of vacation for over a year. I am STRUGGLING.
Okay, but that’s not actually what I came here to write about. Back to it!
So Val is being such a great listener and I am describing what was going on and just thinking “WHY was this such a big deal?! It sounds like absolutely NOTHING when you talk about it!”
I quickly shut that thought down. It was a big deal to ME. It had national exposure and was escalated and urgent. I had to coordinate with the head of my organization (and a bunch of other folks that I won’t get in to). That’s big deal status.
But maybe looking back at it and thinking it doesn’t sound like a big deal can help me handle other big deals better in the future. Like… maybe when I am in the moment then, I will stop and think “Hey! Remember the last time you lost your s-word about something and shut off from the planet that after it was all over it didn’t seem like that big of a deal?” Maybe? What do we think? 50/50 chance?
Ha, if not that, at least I learned a lot of lessons about how to handle that specific instance, and what questions to ask when I get assigned a task I’ve never done before! Bright side!
This is going to sound a bit unrelated, but the end had me really connecting with your post. Our last hiking trip in Juneau had us up a mountain again, and towards the top I had a small panic attack where I couldn’t go any further and was crying and embarrassed. After a few minutes, a group of hikers and their dog came down towards us, walking like it was no big thing, and seeing them going so effortlessly just took all the energy from my stuckness. And I could go again.
All this to say, maybe remembering mid freak out CAN help you get through it! I hope it does 🙂
I love that! And am so glad it helped you. Like a little glimpse of the future! Thank you for sharing this!
We all have our own BIG DEALS to handle, and things that feel really hard to one person are NBD to others! For example, I hate dealing with parking and I have friends who don’t get all stressed out about it like I do. We have to go through the Big Deal Things in order to learn and grow, even when it feels REALLY HARD when we’re in the midst of it. You learned a lot with this work situation and now can apply that to other areas when they come up! Proud of you!
Thank you! And thanks for listening to me when you were here. That helped SO MUCH. And the perspective about what’s a big deal to others helps too. I get you on the parking! I will arrive at an event way before I need to be there to make sure I get a legal spot!