We’re all familiar with Charles R. Swindoll’s quote that says: “Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” After what I just experienced, I must admit: Truer words have never been spoken!
My Story
This past weekend, my flexibility was put to the test. I sat in my office, geared up to host a day-long digital wellness retreat that would help you press the reset button on quarantine life. It was going to be a full day of fresh food with famous chefs, workouts with world-renowned teachers, pampering with beauty gurus, relaxation with healing experts, and much more. The goal? To share healthy hacks and instill a boost of confidence in your everyday life, emerging happier and more inspired.
The idea came to me after weeks of living in isolation and one day having a serious meltdown. My meltdown was so big, I knew I needed to take drastic measures to reverse the feeling of total overwhelm, so that I could show up for my husband, my 4 kids, and the people who rely on me. Have you had one of those yet?! I needed a brain-scape (aka an escape from my mind).
I took a full day off and shared it on social as my #momdayoff. I practiced extra yoga, listened to music and podcasts, went to the beach, and even gave myself a facial! In my day of peace, I started daydreaming about how I could give you the tools to take a day “off”, even though we’re all in quarantine. And so, the Flexible Spa Staycation wellness retreat was born.
What began as a little idea transformed into three weeks of round-the-clock planning and organizing, together with partners and teachers we developed relationships with. My team and I dotted our I’s and crossed our T’s. Everything was ready to go and we were excited to give you a much-needed break. But, as I watched the clock strike 8 am (AKA showtime), everything went horribly wrong.
Turns out, Zoom was experiencing a global outage. Crazy timing, right?! We were unable to broadcast on the platform, as planned. Swarms of emails, messages, and questions were coming in from all over the world, wondering why we weren’t broadcasting. So, within a matter of minutes, I needed to let go of all the planning and pivot to a new plan. To put it simply: I needed to get flexible … and fast!
Life Is All About How You React
It would have been easy to throw my arms up in the air and just quit — get caught up in the “What Ifs”. But, if you’re a regular reader here at The Flexible Chef blog or you have my cookbook, then you know there’s always a way to salvage a flop. Whether you burnt the brownies, ran into technical issues, or can no longer work, socialize, and live as you once did due to a global pandemic, there is always a way to rise above.
In my situation, I rallied the many wellness experts, worked together to quickly pre-record lessons, and brought you workshops on Facebook. We also worked around the clock to give you access to a special On-Demand page, where you can go back and experience any workshop wherever / whenever you want.
Things didn’t turn out how I planned, but guess what? Everyone learned key lessons that day! Some people learned how to whip up new meals, others left with new workout inspiration. Me? I learned that the way we react to things is far more important than the result.
Lessons Learned
In any challenge we face, we must ask ourselves: How can we channel our current situation into something positive? What can we do to create momentum despite the craziness going on in our world? How can we emerge a fighter and come out stronger?
Here is a video I created in the midst of it all. I share this with you today to shine a light on the importance of flexibility. We might not be able to control everything in our lives, but there is always a way to come out on top!
