We’ve ALL experienced those surprises in the workplace and life in general. You know, the car breaks down, a setback at work, your luggage was lost, you get the gist. How do you react to these situations? Do you take it in stride? Do you have a meltdown? We all have our own way of handling these situations and can make it worse or roll with the punches. So how do we roll with the punches? Here are 3 tips to deal with those little surprises!

Process The Feeling and Don’t bury it

When we say process the feeling, that does not necessarily mean blowing up at everyone! What it does mean is that we want to fully process how we feel and not bury any kind of emotion or feeling since that just creates a ticking time bomb which could explode even at the slightest issue. If we need to have a pity party, then have the pity party but the key is don’t get stuck in it! Feel it, release it and move forward.

Look for the Positives in the Situation

When there is an unexpected event, the people who tend to handle it in stride are those who realize it could have been much worse and express gratitude that it wasn’t. An example many of us have encountered is probably the car breaking down and maybe it broke down 2 miles from home versus in the middle of the freeway. It still stinks that the car broke down but it could have been far worse! Or maybe someone didn’t show up for an important event but there was another person who filled in quickly and didn’t miss a beat. Looking for the positives in any circumstance pulls us through situations more quickly and helps us to move forward.

People who look for the positive also tend to realize the unexpected situation may have been a  true blessing in disguise. Have you ever looked back on an event that you perceived as “bad” or “horrible” and then after the fact, realized it was the best thing that could have ever happened!  Yep, we all have those stories! Unexpected events often lead to very positive outcomes.  

Be Flexible and Go with the Flow

The people who handle unexpected events well are those that are nimble and start planning on how to resolve the issue almost instantaneously.  Expect the unexpected is one of their mottos which allows them to problem solve on the fly. They are usually the ones that handle change smoothly. Sometimes they don’t even process how they feel until later but rather just move to dealing with and resolving the issue. 

The bottom line is that there is no escaping unexpected surprises. It happens to all of us!  But how we react to these surprises IS within our control. Handling a situation in stride does not mean we necessarily like what’s happening, it just means we are reacting to the change in a productive manner to keep us moving forward!