Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week - April 23rd

Without disruptions in life, where would we be? - Sarah Gadon

You embrace disruption. I think it's a good thing. - Denise Morrison

Disruption is, at its core, a really powerful idea. - Clayton M. Christensen

Since the fire marshals told me it was not safe to live in my apartment, my insurance company outsourced finding me a place to stay.  The company was very helpful by providing three or four different hotel options based on certain qualifications I asked for.  It was about 6:15pm on a Tuesday night when I first talked with them and by 9:30pm that night I had paid my deductible and knew where I would lay my head the next night. 

The following day (Wednesday) I checked into the hotel, very thankful for a clean place to sleep with no idea how long I would be living in a hotel room.  I was blessed with an amazing view of the Pentagon that I fell asleep to each night.  On Friday, I was dealing with various issues during the day, went grocery shopping and then returned to the hotel late in the afternoon.  After taking up one load of stuff to my room, I pushed the elevator pushbutton on the 16^th floor and waited.  When the elevator doors opened, I saw an older tall gentleman with brunette hair standing in the elevator with 6 bottles of wine in the bag he was holding.  Being friendly, I said, “Looks like you are going to have fun tonight!”  The gentleman laughed at my comment and we started talking.  By the time we reached the underground parking, I discovered he lived at the hotel and he had invited me to the table he hosted during the hotel happy hour Monday through Wednesday nights.  At first, I was not sure about going; however, I did my research online and discovered that my new “friend” was a former Army JAG attorney (Judge Advocate General) and I did not see any reason why I could not go downstairs for a little while.  That one decision made my stay at the hotel so much fun.

When I arrived downstairs on Monday, I reintroduced myself to the former JAG attorney and he introduced me to some of his friends that were at his table that night.  Throughout the evening, I met a number of military personnel that were TDY (temporary duty) at the Pentagon and discovered that this happened on a regular basis.  Throughout my stay, I met a number of other individuals at the table.  We had a wonderful time laughing, learning about each other and discussing politics.  The group was very diverse and we did not always agree, but this new group of friends I met at the hotel made my “life disruption” so much better. 

One night when I was talking with my sister, she told me that maybe this “life disruption” would turn out for my good and she was right.  Even now that I have returned to my apartment, I have gone back to visit the table at the hotel a couple times and plan on going back for other events.  I made some great friends during my 33-day hotel stay that will be there for me when I need them.  

CHALLENGE:   Embrace every disruption and enjoy it!