I'm baaaaack! Did you miss me? I missed me. (and you). The last few months have been riddled with planning—Jaren and I upped the intensity of our work schedules all to prepare for a massive road-trip up the California coast to Portland, Oregon. Now that we're finally here, wrapped up in the wedding fog (can I just say I have never given enough credit to anyone planning a wedding ever before and now I really want to give those people a big hug?) we can, kind of, decompress. So here I am, on a cloudy night in Portland. And today I had my first real conversation with myself in a long time. And of course it was about the rain. It rained today. Not really groundbreaking, I know, but it caught me (for the second time this week) mid-run. My dog, being LA-born, was perplexed and aggravated by the assault of water droplets falling from the sky. I, on the other hand, got kind of a kick out of it. "Can a person technically skip a shower if it rains on them while running?" And then I heard myself say out loud, to no one, because I guess I am that crazy person who talks to herself on the street, "The rain doesn't bother me." Later, as I was driving to pick up a large box full of wedding junk from my girlfriend's house, it started to downpour. We're talking rain drops as large as bullets, barreling toward the ground with a vengeance. It picked up just as I parked in her driveway. I envisioned the large cardboard box melting away in my arms as I tried to carry it from doorway to vehicle. And then I thought to myself, "Okay, so the rain doesn't bother me... but it does challenge me."

And then (because who doesn't LOVE to get existential?!) I considered the difference between feeling bothered and feeling challenged.

Ronin (dog) was bothered by the rain this morning. It's kind of instinctual, right? It's the first place we go when something doesn't feel comfortable. Ronin will never think to himself, "well jee, this isn't a bother, it's a challenge" because Ronin is a dog and he literally cannot be bothered (pun) with that kind of existential bullshit. People, on the other hand, have this amazing capacity to choose how to see an obstacle. We see the world in so many shapes and forms and from so many angles. To say that something is a "challenge" recognizes that it can be overcome. A "bother" is finite. It is not malleable and it doesn't welcome engagement. It just is.A challenge beckons you. It asks you to confront it — and if offers you the opportunity to "win." A dog sees a log has fallen on his path and he looks for the way around it — he doesn't examine all the options before he chooses, he just tries one thing after another until he makes his way over. The log is not malleable and it does not welcome engagement. It just is. You see a log has fallen on your path and you look for the very best way around it. You could go over it, around it, or you could cut it up into a billion pieces with a chainsaw and go through it. The log is a character. It beckons you. It asks you to confront it. Thankfully, you have tools. You have brains. You have options. You are equipped to handle anything. A challenge is playful—it's a puzzle begging to be solved. And you have all the pieces. Because you're human, remember. And humans are, by nature, really smart. I'm reminded this every day because I have a dog who trembles at the site of a broom.

When you allow yourself to choose the way you look at life's inconvenient drop-ins, everything changes. You can't stop the hard stuff, but if you face it from the right angle, you can have a good life in spite of it.

So next time you're feeling bothered—just remember: you are human. And then ask yourself if whatever's bothering you were a puzzle, how would you solve it? If it were a giant log that fell into your pathway, how would you get around it? If it were a bee buzzing in your ear, how would you escape its sting? Because the beauty here is that even if it does sting, you're better off. Why? Because you'll be able to look at that pain as a challenge. I know what you're thinking: it's an endless cycle! But not when you look at it visually. When you look at it visually, you see that it's really just a path forward. See how the teal arrows move you forward, but the black arrows lead to dead ends? Choosing to view your discomfort as a challenge that can be overcome grants you far more options and opportunities on your journey. Choosing to view your discomfort as a bother will stall you.

When you alter your perspective, you alter your path.

Just something to think about next time you find yourself caught in the rain. 😜

Do You Feel Bothered or Challenged by Adversity?

And then (because who doesn't LOVE to get existential?!) I considered the difference between feeling bothered and feeling challenged.

When you allow yourself to choose the way you look at life's inconvenient drop-ins, everything changes. You can't stop the hard stuff, but if you face it from the right angle, you can have a good life in spite of it.

When you alter your perspective, you alter your path.