We’ve all had “And then. . . “ days. These are the days where everything seems to collapse at once. On these days, what can go wrong, will go wrong. It is almost as if we are the full embodiment of Murphy’s Law, and that “law” was written solely for us to model for the rest of the world. It is on those days that we want to throw up our hands, get into bed, and pull the covers up over our heads. Maybe if we stay there for the rest of the day, things will be much different, and therefore much better, tomorrow.
My reflection on “And then. . .” stems from a series of comments made by a #Blog365 colleague, who shared in discussion, his “And then. . .” day on Tuesday. It was complete with everything you could imagine, and bordering on humorous, the way most ridiculous days are. As I listened to him share his day, I immediately reflected on my most recent “And then. . .” It was a bizarrely crazy day, complete with nothing falling into place and where I literally threw up my hands and said, “What else could go wrong at this point?”
While it might seem a little strange to say, I believe we actually need these types of days (not too often, mind you; I’m certainly not advocating for that). The fact of the matter is that these days, the ones that truly live by the “And then. . . “progression, help to ground us in what truly matters, and what we need to stay effective, and in short, stay sane. These outlier days remind us of all we have to be thankful for, and help us to realize that a nutty day once a month is the expectation for smooth sailing on the other twenty-nine (or thirty, or twenty-seven, or twenty-eight; just covering all my bases).
The other value to “And then. . .” days is that they remind us that we must be patient with our colleagues and learners when they have these days too. “And then. . . “ days do not prioritize; they strike who and when the conditions are lined up for them to do so. Often, the more stress or moving parts, the more likely they occur. But, in reality, any day can be an “And then. . . “ day. For anyone. At any time.
This realization has led me, over time, to become more patient and more understanding of those I work with and live with. While I still have a long way to go in this area, I feel that my experience with “And then. . . “ makes me much better to live, learn, and lead, with “And now. . . “