You Can Choose The Outcome

Published on August 17, 2017

We often feel that our lives and days and experiences are pretty much out of our control.

Most people would say, “What happens, happens. There is not much we can do to change what happens during a day”. What we can do is alter how we react to situations and experiences as they arise.

On Friday our water delivery came. My wife decided a few months ago to go with glass bottles because of chemicals in the plastic and the environment.

Two guys were working on the truck and walked up with two bottles each. I was on the front porch with my son. “Would you like us to take them into the house for you?” one guy asked. Normally we just have them left on the front step. “That would be great” I told him.

I opened the front door and they both came in, straining under the weight of the bottles. Not looking, one guy turned one way and the other turned the other and two bottles hit and shattered everywhere in the front hall.

5 gallons of water and shattered glass covered the entire hallway!

My first reaction was to stare in disbelief. All of this water and broken glass all over the new hardwood floor and it started running down the stairs into the rec room. 5 gallons is a lot of water!!

The look on the faces of the guys was “shock” to say the least.

They could not move fast enough to try and stem the tide of water and protect us from the broken glass. I lost track of the “I am so sorry” after about the first dozen.

I’ll admit staying calm and being understanding was not my first thought. I’m not sure why, but the look on their faces seemed to outweigh my fear of what was happening to my house. I heard myself telling them over and over again “not to worry about it. It was no big deal. We all make mistakes. Don’t let this wreck your day”.

It was interesting when I turned the mirror around and had sympathy for their situation. The way it turned out was amazing. They stayed around and helped to mop up the water and broken glass. My wife complimented me on how calm I stayed and the best part was this. I was surprised how good I felt about myself for handling it the way I did.

Getting upset would have solved nothing but making these guys feel worse than they already did. There is great satisfaction from being in control of your emotions. We may not be able to predict what happens during a day, but we can choose the outcome. Have an excellent day.

Be well,

Randy Taylor