Be Unflappable.

A favorite game of mine is "The Word Model". It's not really a game, per se, just an exercise that I like to practice frequently and one I enjoy guiding the kids through as well. It's a process in which we choose words rather than people to model ourselves after.

One such word is unflappable (adj): having or showing calmness in a crisis.

Commit yourself to a word that you aspire to be & you'll soon find yourself in defining situations (I know I've definitely encountered more mini-crises recently than I care to recall). But having a word to lean on makes it a lot harder to get swept away by a simple gust a wind.

I, for one, used to be a highly anxious person. I could actually feel the pressure from challenging situations building in my head, and, like a pot of spaghetti boiling over, I'd often raise my voice or react suddenly, justifying my anxiety and overreaction with totally irrational logic, which, at the time, seemed completely logical.

Like a bad hangover, days later I would realize there was a better way to deal with those high stress situations. And so, after evaluating my bad habits, I decided I simply needed a better word model. Unflappable hasn't let me down since.

It's all too easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of what's happening to us at any given moment. But for me, I have to remind myself that I can't let that get in the way of all the great things that lie ahead. Life is all about intention and perspective...

And I intend to succeed—unflappably (that one I just made up 😉).