One constant thing about the Professional Organizing industry is change. We go through lion and lamb seasons. This year started with business coming in at a snail's pace, and now we're scheduled through the end of March with some appointments scheduled in April and May.
So many times I find myself saying, "there's a reason for everything" yet I still don't know all of those reasons, and some I may never know. But I do know quite a bit more than I did at the beginning of the journey. Here are the most important awakenings I've had:
- Be flexible! People change their minds, the weather changes, health changes, LIFE changes! You can NOT go back and change anything that has happened in the past, but you certainly can influence your future, which leads me to the next point.
- Be proactive! I refuse to accept the answer from anyone that they had "no choice." There are always choices. So someone runs their pick-up into the backend of your Toyota. Do you have any choices? YES! You can choose to say, "why do bad things always happen to me?" or you can choose to say, "Awesome! A new car is in my future!" A former Pastor's wife used to tell me that when she was stuck in a traffic jam, she tried not to look at it as something that was ruining her day. Instead, she said, "Yay! I'm in a parade!" Life truly is made up of choices, and we always have them.
- Be open to opportunity! Friends of ours who had suffered job loss in their home were facing losing their house. I was simply floored by the statement my friend made when we were talking about the possibility of them heading to a shelter. She said, "well, if we end up in a shelter, it's because God must want us to witness to someone there." I was ashamed as I know for sure that would not have been my attitude. But truly, there are situations that seem fruitless to us, that ultimately end up being an eternal benefit for which we may never see the results, but they happen just the same.
- Be accepting of help! Life is too short to stress ourselves out over not being able to get everything done that we need to do. It's OK to ask a friend to help you with cleaning your home for a dinner party, or saying yes to the friend who, during a chaotic move, asks, "Can I help with anything?"
I'm so thankful for all of these life lessons, as well as to the people who taught them to me. And I'm definitely thankful for the swell in business, even though it's shortened my family time for the time being. In the end, it all balances; after all, there's a reason for everything!
