They say you can tell a lot about a person by how they react to adversity. In the past this has been a problem for me. I would get angry and defensive in bad situations and I realized how terrible it was for me. So I've tried to work on it. But it's been hard to tell how I was doing as things have been pretty even-keeled and going well for a while.
Then I got on the thruway to go to Brockport
A tractor trailor maybe trying to mark his territory
So it's Friday afternoon and I'm excited for a great weekend with great friends many of whom I haven't seen in over 2 years. About half way into my trip I was side-swiped by a tractor trailor, did at least one 360, and ended up nose down in a ditch at about 45 degrees.
I learned a lot about myself in the minutes after this happened. For starters, it was my first experience with the whole potential "life flashing before your eyes" scenario.
Only it didn't.
While spinning I think I said a few choice words and was fired up when I first came to a complete stop. I got out of the car to make sure I wasn't hurt and to see the damage. And after I saw my front end completely buried in mud, and saw the damage to the panel, a calm came over me.
A year ago there is no doubt in my mind what would have happened. I would have been irate with the driver and I probably would've crawled into a hole, went back home and called the weekend a 'loss'. (In fact, the last time we all went to the same place, my phone got ruined in a pool. And I was resentful for hours, if not the whole weekend. Over a phone.)
But I didn't. I didn't get angry at the driver of the truck (even after he changed his story of what had happened) and I didn't get down on myself. I got pulled out of the ditch, gave my statement, and got back on the road to Brockport where I had an awesome weekend catching up with everyone (it's weird how nobody misses a beat-it's like the last weekend we got together never even ended).Only it didn't.
While spinning I think I said a few choice words and was fired up when I first came to a complete stop. I got out of the car to make sure I wasn't hurt and to see the damage. And after I saw my front end completely buried in mud, and saw the damage to the panel, a calm came over me.
A year ago there is no doubt in my mind what would have happened. I would have been irate with the driver and I probably would've crawled into a hole, went back home and called the weekend a 'loss'. (In fact, the last time we all went to the same place, my phone got ruined in a pool. And I was resentful for hours, if not the whole weekend. Over a phone.)
Looking back, the way I chose to react to each situation played a direct role in my own happiness for the immediate future.
So anyway, after an Awesome weekend, it's back to work tomorrow with a long day of training surrounding a baseball camp that I am running. Should be great!
Jon
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