And yet again, another lesson in this. I made the mistake of walking in the door 15 minutes before a coaching call. The boys were still up and of course after seeing me wanted ME to put them down for their nap. In addition to prepping for my call, I had wanted to get dinner marinating, respond to a few emails, and eat something quickly. And yet none of that happened. They were already cranky and I had a clock ticking in my head. Not the best recipe.
We went in their room. James decided he simply couldn't nap without one more piece of toast. And Ryan decided to poop at the 11th hour. You've all been there. It's like they can sense you're in a hurry and therefore try their absolute hardest to make things that much more difficult. I could feel the stress building.
Why are they making this so hard? I'm going to be late! Just get in your cribs already! GAHHHHH!
Thanks to my coaching practice I knew I had two choices -- to let my anxiety build and rush through the naptime process OR I could hit the breaks and tell myself to S L O W D O W N. I did a quick mental check in and reasoned that I'm always on time so it wouldn't be the end of the world if I were 5 minutes late to my call.
Fortunately I chose option B.
And what happened? James calmly finished his toast while flipping through pages of his favorite book while Ryan (for the first time in awhile) laid still while I changed his diaper. And yes, I did show up 5 minutes late to my call -- my dear client was more than understanding and I'm so grateful to her for that. The lesson yet again was how much time I SAVED by slowing down. Seems counterintuitive but rushing would have created so many more obstacles that would have made me even later. It also allowed me to be more present with the kids in the few moments I had with them.
So the next time you're running late and feel the urge to rush, I encourage you to do the opposite. S L O W D O W N. Take a deep breath, feel your feet firmly planted on the ground, and just literally stop what you're doing for a minute. Weigh your options. Consider the different outcomes. Then make a conscious decision. Never fails.