Sometimes You Need a Map

Tonight I got mad. I was so mad that it's quite possible that I was raising my voice in anger as I "discussed" a difficult situation at work. The recipients of my rant were none other than my dear husband and, I'm sorry to say, my sweet little daughter.

I was really trying to manage my tone of voice and frustration, but the truth is that both of them knew that I was working myself into a worse and worse state of mind. Luckily, this is pretty rare, but I find that once I start on that negative spiral, it is sooooo hard to pick myself up, turn around, and head in the other direction and see the positives.

When I woefully exclaimed "I'm stuck!," my ingenious daughter remembered that when Dora needs to get un-stuck, she simply calls on her map to find the way. She helpfully pulled out her Dora book and showed me the map of how to get to the Mermaid Kingdom. She then proceeded to physically pull me up off the couch to encourage me to follow the map's instructions so that I could become un-stuck.

I almost cried, but then I realized that a map was exactly what I did need! I was able to shake off some of the anger, and read my little one another book before I put her to bed. Then I sat down at my desk and mapped out how I was going to handle the situation I am facing. I cannot make the situation go away, but I can make the anger and frustration subside by recognizing the path that I need to take, and how I can overcome the obstacles.

Thus, I realized that sometimes it is the very fact that I have a life that I am able to bring balance to my work.