Heed warnings and sidestep problems
NATE LEATHERS
Issue date: 5/21/09 Section: Opinion
I should have seen it coming. It all started yesterday afternoon when the lights in my house began to randomly flicker and dim.
Now I am sitting here in the dark desperately trying to finish this column before my laptop battery dies.
Not one person in my family decided to do anything about the flickering lights yesterday, and now we are stuck without electricity completely.
The lesson here is twofold. The first major lesson I have learned from this experience, as I sit in the dark, is to heed life's warnings.
Most of the time in our lives, bad situations are preceded by warnings. When your check engine light has been on for the last six months; that is a warning. When your boyfriend or girlfriend says "We need to talk," that is a warning. When your doctor tells you to eat healthier or when you get a bad grade on a test, consider yourself warned.
We have to realize and be aware when life gives us these warnings. If we don't, bad situations will blindside us all the time.
The other thing I have learned from this experience is that we must be proactive in responding to these warnings.
I thought my mom would call my dad and tell him what was going on, so he could call the electrician. Somehow my mom thought she told me to call my dad who assumed that either my mom or I had called the electrician by the time he got home.
To make a long story short, nobody called the electrician until today and he isn't coming until tomorrow.
The only reason we are stuck in this situation is because nobody was proactive. We all sat back and expected everyone else to take care of the problem.
Don't always assume that someone else will fix the problem, because in most cases, they are thinking you will fix it.
So be aggressive, be proactive and be the first attempt to fix the problems you encounter in your life. Too often I've found that if I don't fix my problems, no one does. Then my problems only get worse.
Now I am sitting here in the dark desperately trying to finish this column before my laptop battery dies.
Not one person in my family decided to do anything about the flickering lights yesterday, and now we are stuck without electricity completely.
The lesson here is twofold. The first major lesson I have learned from this experience, as I sit in the dark, is to heed life's warnings.
Most of the time in our lives, bad situations are preceded by warnings. When your check engine light has been on for the last six months; that is a warning. When your boyfriend or girlfriend says "We need to talk," that is a warning. When your doctor tells you to eat healthier or when you get a bad grade on a test, consider yourself warned.
We have to realize and be aware when life gives us these warnings. If we don't, bad situations will blindside us all the time.
The other thing I have learned from this experience is that we must be proactive in responding to these warnings.
I thought my mom would call my dad and tell him what was going on, so he could call the electrician. Somehow my mom thought she told me to call my dad who assumed that either my mom or I had called the electrician by the time he got home.
To make a long story short, nobody called the electrician until today and he isn't coming until tomorrow.
The only reason we are stuck in this situation is because nobody was proactive. We all sat back and expected everyone else to take care of the problem.
Don't always assume that someone else will fix the problem, because in most cases, they are thinking you will fix it.
So be aggressive, be proactive and be the first attempt to fix the problems you encounter in your life. Too often I've found that if I don't fix my problems, no one does. Then my problems only get worse.
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