Optimism Meets Opportunity

A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties.

Harry Truman

Wednesday I spent a sizable portion of the day trying again and again to deliver a message with important event info to my team for the Big Climb next month. Each attempt and change frustratingly produced an error message as undeliverable. Then when I thought I could not be anymore annoyed, my session timed out and the message I spent so long composing disappeared from the screen entirely. Mentally exhausted, I complained in an email to my sister and sort of to the event coordinator.

I got an immediate response as to the source of the problem which gave me relief, I accepted, and I determined to use a better way of communication.

My sister also wrote back shortly and reminded me that important messages I should compose in a word file which can be saved (and which I really should have known better from losing countless emails in the past!). It was a good lesson of a productive habit I have gotten very lazy at which is crucial to being an efficient leader, areas in which I would like to develop. Further, I agreed that it was useful for me to learn these little glitches myself so that I can assist anyone else on the team who may encounter the same frustrations.

Later, I went for a 5 mile run with the dogs before my weekly personal training session. I was so tired on Tuesday from the 6.5 mile run on Monday that I had to completely take a rest day off missing water aerbics. I forced myself to get out during a late afternoon sun break Wednesday to run with the dogs. The challenge created an opportunity to warm my body up and get it ready for training in another couple hours.

Still fatigued from consecutive long runs and elevation hikes in a row, I reminded myself that the burn in my muscles was an excellent simulation for preparing to climb Kilimanjaro at an altitude where the lower oxygen levels will exhaust my legs quickly. Further, the longer I ran would condition my lungs for the cardiovascular strain of oxygen deprivation which occurs when exerting oneself at high altitude.

On the 2.5 miles heading back to the truck it started to rain. A groan initially played in my mind as it was a cold 46 degree NW rain. However, the sun was still shining and we were enveloped by the most dazzlingly array of color in the surroundings - surreal. Then the most brilliant rainbow I have seen in a long while shadowed by a fainter second blazed across the sky accompanying us on our entire return trip!

What an opportunity rewarded me for pushing through the challenges of the day!