I work with a colleague who repeats this mantra daily
“Expect the Unexpected and Live in a State of Wonder.”
She is continually positive, excited about life, and genuine with her thoughts and words.
I am a bit of a doubter so I wondered if there were times when she isn’t so positive.
Like when your alarm doesn’t go off in the morning, or you forget your bag at work, or you get an unkind email from someone. But, from what I have witnessed nothing really can rattle her core.
So I finally asked her one day, how do you remain so positive. She let me know that when she went through a really difficult time a couple years ago, she had to change her mindset. She said “The only way I was going to make it out of my dark time was to really start to embody this mantra.”
So, guess what? I have secretly started to tell myself each day “Expect the Unexpected.”
And you know what, it softens the fall when things on my to do list might not all get done, or a random doctor appointment comes up, or when a 180 degree change of plans happens when I pick up my girls from school.
The ability to be flexible and malleable tends to diminish as we get older. I started to research this idea that has been brewing in my mind. I stumbled across a few articles about brain development. In the article “What it Takes to Change your Brain’s Patterns after Age of 25” the reporter stated
More than a century since Williams James’s influential text, we know that, unfortunately, our brains start to solidify by the age of 25, but that, fortunately, change is still possible after. The key is continuously creating new pathways and connections to break apart stuck neural patterns in the brain.
I continued to read and found that the way you can continue to grow is to do a new task that is difficult both physically and mentally over a long period of time.
Well, I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t seem that fun. However, if I say the mantra
“Expect the unexpected, and live in a state of wonder,” then
The daunting task or new skill doesn’t seem so hard or labor intensive.
Scott and I both were trying out some new goals with exercise. I used to be an avid yogi and Scott used to be a marathon runner. Then, life came along, and as you know, we had less and less time to pursue these individual goals for health. So, although the first step, first stretch, or first word is the hardest. . . we have embraced this idea of trying something hard over a long period of time. And boy is it hard. . . but so worth it.
What I have also noticed is that both positivity and negativity is contagious. You have to choose it.
I have found in the past month that our entire family is embracing this new mantra of positivity.
I have been nicer to myself. The girls have been giving each other words of encouragement to make it through the Middle School Days, and we really have been excited to see what is the “unexpected” in our daily lives!
The Unexpected So Far:
Being Featured at a Local Artisan Market
Collaborating with Shareable Boards
Both Girls took a Leap to Audition for New Extracurricular Activities
Making my Own Pumpkin Cream Cheese
Adopting a Kitten
Dishwasher Broken for 6 weeks
Still Learning how to Manage Social Media
Sunsets Earlier in the Evening
Pumpkin Bagels At Trader Joes
The Unexpected is so much more enjoyable these days. I would love to hear from you what is your "Unexpected Moment" in your daily life. It's amazing what we can experience.
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