Bonjour! (That’s French for “Hello!) It’s Daniel here, once again bringing a little reflection time to your weekend.

As I sat down this morning to write this week’s issue (which, by the way, if you always want to fast-forward to Friday, start writing a weekly newsletter and I can guarantee that time will cease to exist and it will always be Friday) I was gifted an unfortunate incident.

I was half focused on getting ready for a big day (gearing up for another Ladies Day Ski Day on-site Vortex activation) and knowing that I was heading into a long day where my energy needs to be on point, I felt hyper focused on my timeline – make my morning protein shake, shower, get ready for the day, get my writing done, pack the car, and get to the ski club.

I’d just made my chocolate shake, walked into my office, sat down at my computer, set my shake on the desk, and before I could even move my mouse to wake up the screen, somehow I knocked my chocolate shake onto the floor beneath me.

Oh, but don’t worry, it didn’t get on the hardwood floors, it spilled all over the white rug. Yeah… did I mention it was chocolate? On a white rug? Good times!

Guess what, though? My mindset walking into the office was “what the f*** am I going to write about today?”, and as I was sopping up my chocolate mess, I thought “Ha! This is what I’m going to write about!” Well played, Universe.

Because here’s the thing, the Universe is always paying attention – always – and it will respond instantly if you’re listening intently. So today I want to talk about why little mishaps like this are actually opportunities in disguise (in my case a cold, wet, chocolaty disguise).

Let’s get shakin’…

shake it off

I’ve been consciously training myself for years not to sweat the small stuff. I think we’ve all experienced the negative ripple effect that can ruin your day when life’s not-so-subtle instances force you into the present moment via something unpleasant.

Ever stub your toe getting out of bed? It’s the worst. But right then and there we have a choice to make: does this set the tone for our day? Or do we decide to take a deep breath, brush it off, and refocus our energy.

When I started my day with that chocolate explosion, I could have lost it. I could have grumbled and thought “perfect… it’s gonna be one of those days” and decided that a silly shake incident was going to control my energy and therefore my reality. It could have totally ruined my day!

Instead, I very calmly picked up the shaker bottle, went to get cleaning supplies, and got to work cleaning up my mess. And as I silently worked away, I was only able to be in the moment and recognize the choice that I had to make: keep powering on, or cry over a spilled milkshake.

Thankfully I’ve been actively working on rapid recovery in moments like this, so I instantly saw the opportunity. I now had something to write about. And as I started to type, it all came flooding in faster than that chocolate mess fell on the floor.

If you haven’t noticed, I love me some alliteration, so when the title Making the Most out of Life’s Messy Moments popped into my head, I started laughing and thought “it’s perfect!” and the $#!%ty feeling of starting my day with a mess instantly disappeared and I shifted to gratitude.

Good things don’t have to come in perfect packages. Miracles can be found in the mess.

correcting the course

In those moments where we get slapped with what feels like microaggressions from the Universe, it’s an instant test of our resolve.

In my consistent practice to not get triggered by these annoyingly impactful moments, I’ve learned not to take it so personally. It’s simply a choice to decide that everything happens for you, not to you, and go from there.

If you do fly off the handle, it’s a good indicator of where you’re at energetically and emotionally. It’s natural to react – our systems are built for that – but most times it’s unnecessary to overreact.

I recently saw a video online of a dashcam where a man is singing happily while waiting at a stoplight. A truck turns at the intersection and almost drives right into him. The man screams quickly as the truck swerves and misses him, then the man goes right back to singing his song as if nothing had happen. This is #goals. That kind of unbothered nature in the face of life’s randomly frightening/challenging/ridiculous occurrences is something we should all strive for.

We can use these seemingly-pointless moments as opportunities to point ourselves in the direction of our choosing. Do we want to be pissed off? Do we want to feel like a victim of life’s unfairness? Or do we want to change course, shift our state and focus on the day/week/life we want to have?

Moment to moment, we’re creating momentum – positive or negative – and we are the keepers of the keys to that energy.

vibe check

Rest assured, when we’re met with the moments that make us throw up our hand and think “what the F”, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, it just means you’re being given a vibe check.

It’s an instant reflection point to decide what’s next, and it’s a practice that compounds and creates your ability to handle life in general. Who do you want to be in times of real crisis? Do you want to lose your shit or be cool, calm and collected? I don’t know about you, but option two sounds a lot more appealing to me.

Let’s not get caught up in the mess. Let’s keep our vibes clean so when $#!% hits the fan, it’ll feel like a subtle breeze instead of a hellish hurricane. Let’s use these messy moments as opportunities to shift and strengthen ourselves – to course correct our current state.

This type of mindset and energetic training sets us up for success for those times when real life comes to meet us head on. The bigger the challenge, the bigger the chance to show ourselves what we’re made of – and we’re made of some pretty amazing stuff!

I’ve learned that the best defense is a strong offense – and the strongest offense is a stronger nervous system. I can guarantee you that if I wasn’t self-caring on the regular, this morning’s episode would have been a little more dramatic and a lot more angry. My whole day could have been ruined and now I feel awesome! I truly believe that a calm and calibrated nervous system is the answer to most of life’s problems. As always, if you ever need any assistance in that department, that’s what we do best!

Now, may your day be bright, and may the lid on your chocolate shake be tight.

Much love!