Embrace the Storm: Where Rainbows Form. (What to do when life is getting crazy)

Embrace the Storm: Where Rainbows Form

The calm after the life storm

We need to learn to slow down when needed but not stop. 

One day a friend of mine invited me to go eat out in New York City and of course, there’s never parking in such a congested city, if you think you found a spot just know that you most definitely didn’t, it’s a pump, I don’t even have to see it, if it’s open, it’s a pump! 

So after about a solid 50 minutes of driving and my friend patiently waiting for me at the restaurant, I finally found a spot about 14 blocks away (seriously I just gave up) and I knew it was getting ready to rain so naturally, I brought my umbrella with me.

Like clockwork as soon as I got out of the car it began to pour, with what felt like, walls of water falling. My instinct, like any person would think, was to just run as fast as I could to the restaurant (I looked like a maniac almost pushing people out of my way just to get to where I was going) anyone that’s ever run in the rain knows that somehow you get even wetter running, keep in mind that this whole time I am running I am doing so still carrying my umbrella like it’s precious cargo, my thought was “well I’m already late and if I run with my umbrella it’s going to fly away or if I walk with it open I’m just going to be even later”.

When I finally got to the restaurant (I looked like I had jumped into a tank at sea world and wrestled all the sharks) I was absolutely soaked and tired from running, much to my surprise even comedic disdain, the moment I stepped foot into the restaurant the rain stopped, the sun came out, and the birds were chirping it was just another beautiful spring day. 

What I learned from all of this..

The reality is this, you are going to go through the storm no matter what, it’s literally part of life. There is not a single person on the beautiful earth that has not had some type of storm in their life, the problem stands on how we respond to it. 

Some people give up before they find the parking spot. They give up on the effort it takes to even make it to the next messy stage of life because it’s just that much easier to go somewhere else, but this causes them to miss out on something that could have been so good for them or even causes them to let down those people counting and rooting for them. 

Some people become discouraged by the distance they have to walk. They feel that the amount of work required to make it to where they will eat is too much to make so they keep circling around the same places they have already looked hoping that someone will leave and give them their spot. They are counting on someone else’s fortune to be their fortune. 

Some people don’t learn to define what the tools they actually have are, they are soaked by the storm having the means to develop the use of the umbrella (their tools) but because they have been taught to fail they’re afraid to grow. 

Finally, some are trying to rush the process. They want immediate success and this causes them to be more miserable than they actually have to be. 

Learning to love the process is more valuable than the destination. 

 You will get to where you need to be, and you will succeed in the places that you continue to put an effort in, but this will require you to do the things that your conditioned failure mindset has caused you to depend on. The fact that we revert to the wounds or shortcomings we’ve faced especially in previous failures, keeps us in that loop of choosing wrong. If you keep trying to run through your storm you’re going to be soaked miserable and quite frankly tired of running, learning to be patient, especially with yourself, if the biggest game changer. Learn to develop the tools at your disposal no matter how many times you have failed with them and ultimately don’t be afraid of the distance you’re starting from, at the end of it all there is that bright and beautiful sunny day where the birds are chirping and it will all feel right. The storm is where the rainbows form.