The Unexpected

I had anticipated this trip for an entire year.

It was the business summit that had been hosted on zoom for two years in a row. This was going to be the first in person experience since 2019. I was not going to miss it for anything.

Palms sweaty with excitement, I could not sleep the night before and I was restless all day.

8:00PM

We head to the airport - I had just put my kids to bed moments before. I also was not going to miss that - I purposely chose a red eye for that reason. I receive a text from the airline, notifying me that the flight will be pushed back one hour. Annoying, but no problem…I thought. This happens all the time.

I enjoy some concessions, grab a bottle of water and read a book to pass some time. I notice people around me becoming increasingly irritable…So I pull my earbuds out of my ear to see that there is a line forming at the service desk.

I quickly pack everything away and begin shuffling towards the service desk myself. Roughly 10 steps before I reach the tail end of the line, I receive a text that begins with “Due to FAA regulations…”

If you fly often - you know what is going to happen next. My flight was not cancelled, but delayed another 14 hours.

I was upset, annoying but also smiling. I lasted over 4 hours in the airport and that evening was an exercise in developing patience. Something I greatly lack.

You see, what we really believe often comes out when things do not go as we want or plan.

I wanted to get on that flight, bad. I knew I was going to miss a golden opportunity to connect and learn on that first day.

But every experience, no matter how difficult, painful or negative - offers us an opportunity to gain something amazing from it. The challenge is to focus on the development character that actually matters instead of focusing on our desire of getting the result we want. Its who we become in that process.

Character will always take us further than the achievement or results that we want at the end.

Enjoy the process, and don’t run from the fight.