Bella in the basement waiting out the noise…
As I sit here typing on this article, I have roofing contractors laboring in the hot sun putting a new roof on my house. When they showed up this morning, Captain Jack and Bella were not impressed. In fact, both dogs did all they could to bark their dissatisfaction. As the guys were hammering literally on our heads, we retreated for awhile to the basement area (my man cave) and hung out for awhile in an effort o limit the noise. Finally, I needed to get to work.
The rest of the morning saw the dogs ease into the commotion, even as the noise increased. As the noise levels rose, their anxiety diminished. On the other hand, mine got worse. As I am typing this right now, I can hear the crew starting to clean up for the day (with pounding still going on), while both dogs lie quietly taking their mid-afternoon siesta.
I admit it. The dogs are more nimble than me. I define the art of being nimble this way…
The capacity to make weighty decisions quickly; to turn those decisions into immediate action; and to be prepared to deal with the results or consequences of that decision. And then rinse and repeat…
(excerpt from my upcoming book)
They were more quickly able to accept that the noise was staying; decide that they weren’t going to alter their life this day; and then take action (in the form of inaction – sleeping). We humans often have trouble with the first step of making decisions quickly. The immediate action is necessary in nimbleness, or else you’re stuck in the muck and complaining that nothing ever changes. And then all too often, we complain when the consequences weren’t the results we wanted.
Ne nimble. We are normally not making life and death decisions. Smart and savvy people can make quick decisions, take action, and live with what happens next…while being prepared to rinse and repeat as necessary.
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