When I was in college, I must have missed the memo outlining the requirements for spring break: grab a group of friends, go somewhere fun, and get wasted.

I seem to recall that I always had a paper due right after spring break, which kind of put a damper on it, knowing that at some point I had to work.

Still, when I think back to my own college spring breaks, two stand out in my memories.

For one of them, a group of friends and I (check that box) went to a super fun beach city (Santa Cruz, CA) for a few days. You’d think that I’d be able to check box #2, but our spring break was so early that the beach was cold and rainy.

Instead of bikinis and umbrella drinks in the sun, it was sweatshirts, *actual* umbrellas, and far too much time in the hotel room for us.

On another spring break, a friend and I (again check box #1) decided to head up to the mountains. Again, you’d think I’d be able to check box #2, but the clutch in the car decided to go out on the way there.

Instead of walking through and smelling the forest, we took in the fumes of burning rubber and rode home in a tow truck.

Don’t get me wrong—my friends and I still had a great time. They just weren’t the typical MTV spring break adventures that seem like almost as much of a college requirement as English 101.

My stories pale, though, in comparison to what a group of young spring breakers we saw this year will be able to tell.

We were on our way to visit family in Florida (nowhere near spring break madness), and I’m pretty sure they were on their way to the beach.

The smoke started out light. As we approached, it got darker.

Finally, it revealed a burning Jeep. Even with a full lane between us and the Jeep, we could feel the heat.

When we drove by those poor kids watching their Jeep, belongings, and spring break dreams go up in flames, I couldn’t help but think about how they got the memo, but life had other plans for them.

It’s not uncommon to make plans and have life or forces outside your control change them.

You put your blood, sweat, and tears into a job only to meet resistance and hostility from your colleagues.

You set a revenue goal for your business, and then a pandemic causes you to pivot just to stay in business.

You build your schedule for the week, only to have a bunch of people reschedule.

You plan a meal you think your kids will enjoy, and suddenly they won’t eat the foods they loved just a day or two ago.

The unexpected happens. It’s what we do with it that makes all the difference in our experience.

The ancient yogic texts and the path of yoga (including and beyond the postures) offer so many ways to help us navigate the unexpected with more grace.

In particular, I’ve been thinking lately about Sutra 4.15 in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

The basic message is that our thoughts and mindset influence how we see something.

In the case of the Jeep…

The worst spring break ever or maybe a good story to tell their kids one day.

A tragic loss of transportation or a good reason to get a more reliable ride.

Bad luck that it happened or good luck that they survived.

It might even be both, or one or more of the myriad of other ways to view the situation.

It’s not that one way to view it is good or right and the other is bad or wrong.

It’s just that how you see it influences your experience.

When you acknowledge the power of your mind to sway your experience, you can realize that you have a choice.

With that first choice of how to see it, comes the power to then determine what you want to do about it, knowing that certain things are outside of your control and again at any time, the unexpected may arise.

Does that mean you should sit around and just wait to react to what’s happening outside of your control?

Not at all.

It just means you don’t have to stay in victim mode when things don’t turn out the way you expected.

I’m not saying it’s easy, and I acknowledge that privilege makes a difference.

It’s possible to take back your most basic human right to choose and be proactive again.

I’m sharing these ideas with you today because I need the reminder myself as well. It’s not always easy.

Yet every moment is a new opportunity to choose.

Speak Your Truth

What will you choose today?

What’s something unexpected in your life and how is your mindset influencing how you see it?

How has choosing your reaction and mindset helped you overcome a situation where you felt like a victim?

Let me know in the comments!

In wellness, joy, and inspiration,

Tami