“If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily.” Gerald Good
I was excited to be the closing keynote at a national conference in Reno. I checked into the hotel and dutifully put my computer in the safe, so I could let my client know I was there and then meet with a speaker friend for lunch.
When I got back to my room a few hours later, I opened the safe and found that the door of the safe had crushed the side of my computer, rendering it useless. I had the “black screen of death” with some squiggly lines on it. O – M – G! I had my keynote the following day and four more programs that weekend I was sans laptop.
Instead of whining and moaning about it, I got into a cab, had him drop me off at Best Buy, where I bought a new computer. I contacted my online backup company, Carbonite, and began downloading files – starting with the five files that I needed for that week. Within two hours I did everything I could do and joined my client at that night’s reception and dinner. The next day, my program went off without a hitch.
Losing the use of your laptop is probably one of the worst things that can happen to you when you’re traveling – or any time. That little machine houses our life’s work, and a whole lot more. I believe that it was my regular practice of gratitude that gave me the mental resources I needed to avert disaster and just “git ‘er done.” I was very proud of myself for not losing my cool – and I now have a great new laptop.
Gratitude really does change your outlook.
PS – Although I wouldn’t have chosen to lose my old laptop in this manner, I’m very grateful to have the new one!