Key Point: Doing what’s right or best is not always convenient. Probably like most of you, I like to plan my daily schedule in advance so that my agenda isn’t distracted by everything that pops out in front of me. This past Sunday was no exception. I had it all outlined in my head: FaceTime and/or phone my travelling wife, kids and grandkids, as well as my mom. I hoped to do some gardening, have a late breakfast and leisurely coffee with the Sunday New York Times, finish a bunch of writing for work, take a 30k bike ride, make dinner, prep for my Exec team meeting, catch up with email backlog, then write my blog and zzzz. Then it happened. I got a text from my niece who was in the area on a weekend outing with her girl friends, inviting me to catch up at a local winery that afternoon?
I love all my nieces and nephews, so it was an easy decision to make. I not only wanted to see her and meet her friends, I was hoping to invite them to our home too. However, to be honest, there was that momentary pause when you realize all your plans have to get reshuffled. I’m so glad my niece texted because it reminded me about priorities and the importance of having the agility and flexibility to go with the flow. Some of the delicious richness of life comes from the fact that things do unexpectedly come up, giving us a choice and chance to do the right thing, which may not always be the most convenient.
The “girls” could only come by for a couple of hours before they had to scoot to the airport, but it was sooo much fun! It truly made my Sunday a Funday. I’m so fortunate and humbled that she even sought out my company. My niece and her friends are all accomplished in their personal and professional lives. If I had been “busy,” I would have not only missed seeing her, but also the context of the wonderful friendships she has established. The biggest chuckle during the visit on our front porch (wine may have been involved) was a discussion of their weekend “sports highlights,” which as you might expect, included a lot of hijinks and laughs. Perhaps the funniest was their creative and hilarious use of “glow in the dark” kids toys to add visual texture to key moments. Before your imagination gets the best of you, it was all in good taste and fun (but the stories stay “sealed” on our front porch).
Character Moves:
- Do you have a well-defined filter for making choices during each day? The Sunday visit reminded me to make sure my priority filter is working properly. Am I making choices to do things that include enough generosity of spirit for others that subsequently replenishes me too? I still made enough room for everything else that really needed to get done on Sunday. So what if my bike ride was shorter? And of course, the Times will be there next Sunday.
- Do you leave room for the unexpected in your day? Great production systems rarely schedule to capacity because they know S#!* happens (almost everyday). If you have no flexibility, when something breaks down, you’re in schedule hell. We need to leave room for the flow AND according to my niece and her friends, we will “glow from that flow.” Thanks for the blog title and inspiration, ladies.
Glowing in The Triangle,
Lorne
One Millennial View: Sometimes I hear my co-workers brag about going to bed very early. We’re talking prideful boasts about hitting the sack as early as 7:30 p.m. They’ll express how wonderfully rested they feel, while silently judging the bags that are probably under my eyes. Congratulations! But, I always think, “Yeah, but what’d you miss?” What laugh didn’t you have? What piece of information did you not learn? Funny enough, I discussed this very subject during a dinner I recently had that could have easily been scrapped due to inconvenience, laziness, and scheduling conflict… If I followed convenience, I would have really missed out.
– Garrett
Edited and published by Garrett Rubis