The power of mañana

The power of mañana

How many times has this happened to you:

You wake up in the morning feeling in fine fettle after a great night’s sleep. It seems like a reasonable day in the making. But by the time you are halfway through breakfast the ‘phone starts ringing with one problem after another. Then the e-mails that demand immediate action start coming and you realise this is going to be one of those days when everything just seems so difficult…

Soon you’re feeling frustrated, disillusioned and demoralised.

All those precious goals that were nearing fruition are now going to require further work, more effort and more time to get back on track. That feeling of hopeless disempowerment…  It’s so debilitating, and everything you do just keeps going wrong.

This happened to me the other day and I have the perfect answer – leave it till tomorrow!

This is only sensible, for whatever you do today is time wasted because the results keep turning out fruitless. You merely add to your frustration by your refusal to accept what is and give yourself a break. Clearly there is something you are not seeing, or learning, or understanding and you need at least a day of doing something completely different to get over your anger and frustration so you can see what you have to do to put things right. A decent night’s sleep can give you a whole new perspective.

On days like this I ask myself, “why does life seem to become more and more difficult?”

Perhaps it’s because as we get older we graduate to more ambitious goals and achievements, or maybe we develop higher expectations of ourselves, or perhaps the goals we now set are over ambitious? Whatever, it can knock our confidence for six, and that’s never helpful.

In many ways our lives are more difficult – Brexit, Covid, the war in Ukraine, rampant inflation, rising fuel, food and heating costs, etc. – but if you keep blaming external influences for your frustrations you’re on a hiding to nothing. Truth is, “stuff happens,” always did, always will, so we have to adapt by making sure our goals are always achievable. Otherwise nothing in our lives can change 

You will only find the answers to life’s questions when you look inside. Sometimes that takes time. Next morning things almost always look better as you begin to realise, “perhaps if I did this…” or “perhaps I could do that,” or “perhaps if I get some help, I could make this work.”

And sometimes things just need to wait till the time is right.

If you feel you’re pushing a big boulder up a steep hill, it’s a sure sign you are not going with the flow and something you are doing, or maybe just your attitude, needs to change. Take time off to look inside.

A new approach, a modified goal, a helping hand… There’s always a solution to every problem if you sincerely want it.