I have a very specific daily routine that I faithfully execute every morning. It consists of the Core Four, a practice I developed training in the Warrior’s Way: Body, Being, Balance, and Business. It’s how I start every day, and it has come to form the foundation upon which I build everything else.
Then yesterday happened. The details aren’t important, but a series of truly important events demanded my attention, and instead of having the bedrock of the Core Four to stand on as I created the rest of the day, I felt like I was sinking in quicksand. The more that I tried to make my day “normal,” the worse it got, and the angrier I became.
By the time I went to bed, I felt beat up. In thinking back on it, I came to this conclusion: I should have declared a breakdown at the outset. It would have spared me the upset and I wouldn’t have been comparing how the day was actually going to how I wished it would have gone.
Here’s the “in case of emergency break glass” instruction sheet I made for myself:
- I’m declaring a breakdown in my routine. It’s not bad, it’s just what’s so.
- I’m accepting that today will look and feel different compared to how my day usually looks and feels.
- I’m acknowledging my wisdom in understanding early on that sometimes it’s not possible for things to go as planned.
- I’m commending myself for doing what matters most, which is in this case (the reason.)
- I’ll look for opportunities during the day to complete my Core Four, and I’ll applaud myself whenever I do so, and not beat myself up if I’m unable to finish everything.
- I’ll appreciate the fact that in shifting priorities and doing what mattered most today, I contributed to others who truly needed me to be there at that moment in time.
- Tomorrow is a new day, a fresh start, a clean slate, and I’ll treat it as such, not looking back, but only looking forward.
I hope this provides some useful guidance when you have “one of those days.” Declare a breakdown, do what matters most, and give yourself the gift of not being perfect.