I had no idea that there were so many words with the letter that follows ‘J’ in the alphabet in it! So what? you might be saying… Well, that button on my computer doesn’t function. When I press it, I get nothing, zero, nada!

So, of course, I could have had a major meltdown or used it as an excuse to just close up shop and not write… but that didn’t even cross my mind… would either of those have been your ‘go to’ reaction?

Instead of throwing in the towel and falling victim to technology, I decided that I would continue to write and just find words that expressed what I wanted to say that didn’t have that letter in it. So…I’m doing pretty well so far… It’s hard because there a lot of very common words containing that letter. So, my writing feels a bit different, maybe odd… I feel the same as I would if I were using my non-dominant hand to write. I have to slow down and give careful consideration to what I am saying. I can’t just let my words flow. I have to be creative, if not elegant. But, I am committed to finding a way around my computer challenge!

So, what’s my point? Why am I writing about this? Because it occurred to me that when things don’t go smoothly or as planned in our lives, we often abandon our efforts. We fall victim to our circumstances. For example, when our intention to exercise is interrupted by some unexpected event, we say, ‘forget it’; or when we fall off of our healthy eating plan for a day, we abandon our effort altogether. In either of these cases, a better approach would be NOT to get emotional about the hiccup, but to go with it… to pose the question, “What could I do differently to be successful?” “What different approach could I use?”

And, there will be many options available to you… I chose to use words that would convey my message without using the letter that follows ‘J’ in the alphabet. I could have created a symbol to represent that letter and explained it in the beginning of my message (* = the letter after ‘J’ in the alphabet) Then, I would say: The * on my computer’s *eyboard isn’t wor*ing so I am using the * every time that letter appears in a word. I don’t *now how it got bro*en. Every other *ey wor*s just fine. I’ll get it fixed soon, but for now, I have to *eep wor*ing.’

Or, I could have copied the letter that follows ‘J’ in the alphabet from an old document and pasted it into this post each time I need to use it. In fact, I did try that for a while but it was really cumbersome so I only use that method to write certain things.

So, when life throws you curveballs, here’s my advice:

1.   Stay calm. Breathe deeply.
2.   Accept it as a challenge rather than a problem. Even turn it into a game. Spare yourself the heart scars!
3.   Consider all of the possible alternatives available to you. Get input from others if you can’t come up with   options yourself.
4.   Try a number of different possible solutions before deciding which will be best for you!
5.   Have fun with it! Have it be a growth experience for you rather than a burden!
6.   Congratulate yourself for your resilience, persistence and success!

P.S. There are at least 14 times in this message that it would have been easier to use the letter that follows ‘J’ in the alphabet. But, I’m pretty sure you got the point!