The Big Metal T-Rex

Note: I was going to wait and post this until after Hurricane Harvey and his awful flooding completely ran its course, but on second thought, I think some of us could use a little positivity and perspective.

The title just makes you want to read this post, right?!  Ok maybe not, and that’s okay. Anyhow, this is a story about perspective.

So, let’s begin as I am driving down 290 for quite a stretch back to The Woodlands from a weekend in the Hill Country. As much as I love spending time up there and the slower pace of things does wonders for my mental state-on this drive, however, I’m, well, not feeling it- after perhaps too long and intense a weekend-and I'm stuck in one of those lingering bad moods (I mean seriously, these things are annoying!). Sleep deprivation, fatigue from training, and apprehension of a presentation I had to give that evening had me all up in my head.

Actually, let’s replace apprehension with thoughts of “why the heck did I accept this assignment the weekend of an out-of-town wedding? “Being a yes-woman is so stupid.” “What if I don’t do well because of this? … how will this impact the rest of my week?” …and so on. My thoughts were trapped in a dreaded feedback loop that was just begging for an interruption. Ever experience something like this? Probably so. Even if you don’t directly admit it! 😉  

Why so serious?

After a couple hours of hanging out in my annoyed/apprehensive/annoyed for being annoyed state I pass by a roadside gas station/bakery/tchotchke factory I see every time I make that drive. And it has a big metal t-rex just hanging out on the exterior. I have always found such country randomness funny, but have just passed on without not giving it another thought. This particular day, as soon as I passed I got this weird impetus to go take a pic of this silly monstrosity (so 2017, isn’t it?!); the mere thought of it made me laugh and before I knew it I had heeded to it and was parked in front of the thing, still laughing to myself for such a frivolous and immature idea. On the other hand…. I could have stood to top my gas tank off and all so it made some sense, right??

Rawr.

After parking I played it cool with the camera-ok not really- I didn’t really care what people thought at the moment and snapped a beautiful timed shot of yours truly staring up at this colorful, magnificent beast. It was impossible to keep a straight face during this process, by the way.  

After a few more minutes of laughing at myself I realized something: I was no longer in the stressed, irritated state I was just minutes prior. The act of taking a silly picture on a whim caused a shift and had completely taken me out of the place I had been in all morning. And guess what- it stayed that way the rest of the drive and into the rest of the day.

So, here’s I attempt make the connection of the metal t-rex with life in general… I’m always amazed at how the little things or moments can be so pivotal. There are many times when we can cognitively right the ship and find perspective without any external input, then there are times where we can stand to have our radars on for things that help trigger a positive response and break the negative cycle.

Yesterday, in fact, driving home from my first day in the office after the storm I saw the sun for the first time. In that little moment, I had to smile and remind myself that yes, everything in this world, big and small will pass.

 My message is that we shouldn’t overlook how even the smallest things can bring us joy even under periods of stress or unhappiness. I’m always amazed at how simply stopping, slowing down, and laughing at yourself some can put things in perspective; in this narrative, I was so hyper focused on how I was feeling and what wasn’t right that it took seeing a ridiculous statue at a gas station to realize that yes, and as many songs will attest-everything is quite alright.

I was present again by simply doing something that ran absolutely counter to how I was feeling. Think about that one.

I’ve used this story with a few clients so far and we have coined the term “find your t-rex”, when things seem bigger than they are-whether that be in a competition or in life itself. So, let this be a reminder to everyone-don’t overlook the little things (especially of the spontaneous variety), as they may make all the difference. So don’t forget to laugh, and smile, and breathe in moments where tension seems never-ending. So keep your head up-you sadly probably won't look up and see a big inanimate dinosaur, but you will probably find something else useful!

And seriously, who doesn’t love a big colorful dinosaur? 

You know, just hanging out with my new bff!