For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been aware of my thoughts and reluctant to allow them to stay negative for long. I’m convinced that my ability to redirect my energy has kept minor inconveniences from expanding into something much bigger and more painful.

Take, for example, a backed-up toilet in our basement this weekend.

Sunday afternoon, I went downstairs to get a workout in, stopped in the bathroom for some strange reason (I didn’t need to use the bathroom), and noticed that the toilet appeared to be backed up. With my limited handyman skills, I used the plunger and thought I had fixed the problem, only to notice, out of the corner of my eye, water coming up through the shower drain. I immediately knew that wasn’t a good sign and diagnosed that our ejector pit wasn’t working.

Frustration.
Concern about expenses.
Annoyance about the cleanup.

Negative emotions were my initial response. But, as soon as I noticed where I was allowing my thoughts and energy to drift to, I shifted to being thankful that I caught the problem early and that our basement hadn’t flooded.

I knew that if I focused on the frustration, concern, and annoyance, more would be coming. Had I not redirected my energy, the furnace would have gone out, or some other joy of home ownership would have occurred. I can’t prove that something else would have gone wrong, but I’ve witnessed enough people experience the old adage, “when it rains, it pours.”

By redirecting my energy, I was able to keep our rain to a light drizzle.

Redirecting your energy can also break the cycle of much bigger events.

Take, for example, being told that you’re probably better off starting your own firm than staying at the one you were at–basically being let go.

Embarrassment.
Fear about providing for my family.
Worry about having to go back to the corporate world.

Instead of that event leading to a loss of confidence or identity, it propelled me to launch my own firm, which I had been contemplating and planning for. Who knows what would have come with the storm if I hadn’t redirected my energy and reclaimed my thoughts in a positive direction.

I don’t expect to convince you in this Note that you can redirect your energy to avoid more pain, inconvenience, or stress. I can, however, hope to help you connect to an experience in your life when you shifted your energy to get back on track, or encourage you to try redirecting your energy the next time life brings you an inconvenient experience.

You have nothing to lose.

Worst-case scenario, it pours on you.
Best-case scenario, it only becomes a drizzle.
Even better-best-case scenario, it only becomes a drizzle, and you learn the power of redirecting your energy, changing all future storms that might come your way.

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See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC