The steamy hot sunny Georgia summer day suddenly changed with a crack of lightening and rumble of thunder from storm clouds rolling up fast from the distance. Immediately, Granny Sis took my small hand and shouted, “Let’s run home!”
A moment before, my Granny and I were strolling casually from my home to her house a few miles away. She was smiling and telling me some story. I get my love of storytelling from both sides of the family and they started early when I was a kid in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Then things changed in an instant with the lightening and thunder. Granny’s face turned serious with a look of panic and our casual stroll became an all out run for her house.
I don’t remember how old I was the first time I heard the story of why storms made things change in an instant for Granny, but I know I heard it from a very young age and often repeated. In 1936 there was a deadly tornado breakout in the southeast including my hometown of Gainesville Georgia. It was at one point the 5th deadliest tornado storm in US history and severely damaged my hometown. Granny was a little girl living in the Cotton Mill village of New Holland and saw the storm coming towards her home while she was outside playing. Granny ran for her house and she kept running from that storm for the rest of her life. She recalled the fear and damage, neighbors injured and killed. That day things changed in an instant for Granny and she lived with those consequences for the rest of her life. But she used that lesson and fear to always be watching for the physical storms in life and be prepared. As I reflect on this story from my childhood and the childhood of my Granny, I’m reminded of how things can change in an instant for any of us, and like my Granny, we need to use that awareness to watch and prepare for both physical and metaphorical storms in life.
In present day I’m reminded of how things can change in an instant recently when I learned about the sudden onset of serious health issues for an older friend and his partner resulting in hospitalizations and sudden change in long term care needs, upending their lives. There were sadly recent sudden deaths of friends, and more as reminders too.
Sometimes things change in an instant based on negative experiences or even positive experiences like coming into an inheritance, winning a lottery, an unexpected job promotion and pay increase etc. Whether it is a negative or positive event that changes things in an instant, we are best served by being mindful, present and aware of our surroundings, watching and preparing for the storms of change, reminding ourselves that the storms don’t last always and are followed by sunshine and rainbows. If we prepare for those changes in an instant where possible, then we aren’t thrown off as much and minimize the disruption to our lives.
Understandably, we can’t prepare for all storms in life, but some are more likely to happen or are forecasted out in advance. As one comedian put it, there’s never been a surprise hurricane. Those are forecasted days if not weeks out. Similarly, aging and long term care needs or other sudden health changes, while we don’t know when or how, are more often than not, going to impact all of us at some point, and we can, as much as possible, plan for those metaphorical storms.
Also, depending on the type of work you do, in today’s business environment, it isn’t will you ever be laid off or forced to change jobs, it is when will it happen. And again, that’s a metaphorical storm we all can prepare for as much as possible by some of the following recommendations:
Keeping resumes updated
Maintain and care for our professional networks
Build transferable skills
Practice interviewing once a year even if not looking to move (it can be an informational interview), and
Identifying what I call alternative futures or multiple professional path options that contain elements most important to you.
These are a few of the ways I’ve prepared for metaphorical career storms in my life as I’ve experienced many layoffs, reorganizations, downsizing etc. You can also use elements like alternative futures to plan for other life storms too.
Storms are inevitable and a part of life but they bring positive benefits sometimes with the rain, don’t last forever, and are followed by the sunshine. It is important to find a harmony between watching and planning for the storms in life while also living fully in the present moments and thriving. I encourage you to reflect on your stories thinking about how you prepared for life storms in the past and how you are planning for future storms while maintaining the harmony with living happily in the present.
So, go out walking in the sunshine and enjoy the day in confidence knowing that you have prepared as best as possible for future life storms. And may your life journey have minimal storms and be filled with lots of joy, gratitude, and new happy memories for as always, Your Story Matters.
