Sick Days
I typically get over a cold in just a day or two. Who knows why this is, but I’ve always figured it might be because as soon as I start to feel like I’m coming down with something, I cancel everything and sleep as much as possible.
This past week, however, my tried-and-true trick failed me big time. Five days in I was still completely exhausted and using the little bit of energy I did have just to take my dog out throughout the day.
Which, hey, if you don’t have much going on in life, becoming a prisoner to the couch with Netflix isn’t the worst thing in the world. But, if you have something you are really, really, really looking forward to getting to, it’s DARN ANNOYING!!!
In my case, I’d planned to start recording my second album last Friday. I’d created a schedule for myself and knew exactly by what date I’d be able to finish recording all songs and move on to mixing and editing. The whole potentially-lingering-congestion-messing-up-my-singing-voice-for-a-month-maybe-more threw a giant wrench in my plans.
So, in typical “me” fashion, I spent my first few sick days feeling beyond frustrated about it. I had a plan, darn it all! This is going to set me back weeks. Why, oh why, did this have to happen now?
Know the Difference
Religious or not, you may recall a certain “Serenity Poem” that’s often referenced in popular culture:
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Well, let’s just say I wasn’t exactly taking those words to heart.
More like desperately fighting tooth and nail that which I absolutely, positively, could NOT change.
(It’s quite exhausting, really).
Wave the White Flag
So a few days in, inevitably, I said what I should have said from the beginning: “I surrender!”
And boy, did it feel good.
When you surrender to the things you can’t change, your pathway forward becomes one of ease instead of constant conflict.
Are you fighting something in your life that you have no control over? Know the difference, and simply surrender. It’ll most likely do you good.
