Automatic pilot or thinking it through?

It is the height of summer in New Jersey. Which means hot, humid days and nights. I don’t have central air in my house which is not a big deal in most rooms as we have air conditioners and ceiling fans. However the bathrooms are another matter.

It is not so fun to come out of a beautiful shower, clean and refreshed. Only to get hot and sweaty immediately because of the humidity in the room. Hence, I’ve always had a tabletop fan that I put on for such occasions to stay comfortable as I’m getting ready for the day.

One morning this week, I noticed that my trusty fan wasn’t putting out much of a breeze any longer. Immediately I headed to my laptop to order a new one. You know the drill - easy, peasy and convenient today to order and get delivered whatever you want within 24-48 hours. I perused the options and couldn’t make a quick decision and looking at the clock would have to postpone or be late for work!

I returned to the bathroom to finish up and turn off the fan altogether. Do you know what happened when I turned off the fan? I realized that I had to turn the switch from my low speed to the high speed to then turn it off. Hmmm, the high speed was working beautifully. So, I didn’t really need a new fan. I just needed to pay attention enough to what I was doing to look for other existing options. Imagine that.

That led me to think about how many other opportunities I may have during the course of the day where I had many options right in front of me, when I didn’t think so. Just slowing down, noticing and taking stock could open up a new directions or alternate solutions for any situation. Right there in front of me all the time.