We’ve all had those days where we’re met with unforeseen obstacles or occurrences that rub us the wrong way and offset our balance for the moment. You get cut off by a driver who forces you to slam on your brakes, the woman at the end of the grocery line miraculously makes her way to the front of the line after you’ve been waiting a decent amount of time, the barista at Starbucks manages to complete the drink order for a customer who was two people behind you prior to making yours, and the delivery guy arrives at your home 10 minutes late and forgets to bring the ranch dressing, cheese, and red peppers to top your oven-baked pizza. For many, these are all episodes we’ve experienced in the past and will continue to experience in the future. Oftentimes they’re eye-rolling and frustrating circumstances that leave you perturbed for the rest of the day. I can’t help but admit to raising the finger (a couple of times) to the driver who once cut me off in the middle of 101 when I was already late for my appointment. At the moment, it might have given me a moment of instant gratification, but overall, what good did it do for me and how did it affect my mindset for the rest of the afternoon?

Undeniably, we’ll always be met with similar types of situations down the line. After undergoing a few of these myself and listening to how others might have approached the same incident differently caused me to think twice. Did it ever occur to you that the person who just cut you off on the freeway might have received a call that his son has been seriously injured at school or that his mom just had a stroke? Did it ever occur to you that the woman who couldn’t patiently wait in line was undergoing a medical emergency that required her to push her way to the front of the line? Did it ever occur to you that the barista was inundated with so many orders that she might have overlooked just one in her life? Did it ever occur to you that the pizza delivery guy tried to appease the angry order before yours and satisfied that customer by giving him the last few condiments he packed for the delivery? I’m certainly not making any excuses or standing behind these people, but simply pointing out that there might be another side to these stories left untold. How we choose to overcome these occurrences will in turn affect ourselves and those around us.

While it’s likely that we’ll never be exposed to these “untold stories” or that there might not have been a plausible reason for that guy to cut you off on the freeway, these little episodes have a way of sneaking up on you. It’s how you embrace some of these smaller changes that will prepare you for the bigger ones coming up ahead. These scenarios, while not as far-fetched, are indicative of changes we experience every day in the workplace. Your colleague who hasn’t even surpassed one year, has gotten a promotion while you’ve exceeded your annual goals, worked your butt off, and haven’t even gotten your annual review due to organizational changes, seemingly beat you to the punch. Or your colleague who has been at the same branch for over 10 years has been asked to transfer locations because the new manager wanted to bring on his direct report and there just wasn’t enough room for two people to take on one position. We may not know the full story behind these scenarios, but we must be able to adapt to change and respond to these situations with a clear mind and the intention of a good head on our shoulders. We must discriminate between what we do and do not do since there are consequences and repercussions to our action or inaction.

It’s how you embrace some of these smaller changes that will prepare you for the bigger ones coming up ahead. Click To Tweet

Change is ongoing and oftentimes unexpected. We’re hardwired to react to our surroundings and we have the ability to consciously choose how to respond to situations that may not occur to our liking. We need to embrace it as a continuous learning process. How we see opportunities in face of a challenge and how quickly we are able to reframe ourselves in the heat of the moment will ultimately determine how successful we can be with change. One question to reflect upon is how do you perform under similar situations and circumstances? And what would you do knowing that there might be stories behind these incidents left untold?