October 22, 2009

That one split-second.

Nice to see you again. Follow me, @SydneyOwen. Thanks for being here!

It’s crazy to me how one interaction can make or break the rest of your day. I saw a lady running to the bus this morning. Her and the bus driver had a moment before he stopped and opened the door. He made her day by stopping. If he hadn’t stopped, no matter that there was another 134 directly behind that bus, her day could have been ruined. From there on out, nothing would go as well as it could have if that driver had stopped.

I catch myself getting caught up in the little interactions that could ruin my day. Sometimes I fall into the trap and get all worked up, and I’m cranky for a bit. Usually I see the positive in the situation (“oh, no worries, there’s a 134 RIGHT BEHIND this bus”). And the rest of the time, I just try to shake it off.

See, life’s too short (I think) for me to be getting all bummed out in those moments.

For me, I try to focus on the positive. Obviously we all have our moments – but I try to keep the smile on and look at the bright side of things.

For me, it’s the little things.

It’s little things like when you’re sitting at your desk trying to figure out how the hell you’re going to get everything on your to-do list done and someone pops in to say hello. In a world where I sit at my desk for hours and hours and hours behind the computer screen, emailing, DM’ing and tweeting all day – it’s nice to have that face-to-face, no matter how long or short it may be.

This has been a crazy month at work – for everyone. We’ve got so much going on and it’s really easy to get negative about it. The way I see it? At least I’m here. I could be still searching for a job. I could be one of the people who worked for a company that had to make cuts. Instead – I’ve got a full list of things to do, every day. I’ll take it.

Life is what you make it, so make it good.

What do you do in that one split-second? Do you get negative or do you seek the silver lining?

  • .
  • I've made it a point to just stop focusing all together. Stay with me here for a moment: the moments that you used as an example happen to people every day, all day long. So we can either spend our energy focusing on these things and analyzing them to death, or just enjoy the fact that life offers these moments at all.
  • Great post Sydney! As I wind down my career at USF, I've been thinking about these kinds of issues quite a bit.

    What success I've had in the classroom -- I think -- boils down to the overt attempt to treat students like fellow human beings. I'm willing to share my ups and downs with them and willing to show that I don't have all the answers, but will help them find their own answers with total effort.

    Thanks for your perspective on life's defining moments.
    .-= Bob Batchelor´s last blog ..Should Scholars Keep Plugging Grunig’s Model Or Develop Theories That Work? =-.
  • "What do you do in that one split-second?"

    I do whatever my natural reaction is to any given situation. I live my life how I choose, with the understanding that there are so many wild and wonderful twists and turns. I don't anticipate anything, I just react.


    "Do you get negative or do you seek the silver lining?"

    After my initial reaction, I move on. If I feel emotional about what happened than I look at it further to see if I can learn something from the experience. My feelings tell me so much. I never see anything as a negative, it doesn't serve me well to look at things that way. Trust me, I've tried that strategy for a long time :)
  • I learned a Sanskrit chant/phrase last night that ends with the word "Swaha." Swaha essentially means, "I offer it up," acknowledging that that one moment, or interaction is just a small part of a bigger picture and you're deciding to just let it roll off and keep moving.

    I LOVED it. And this totally reminded me of that perspective.
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